Project Remnant
by Aworldnotsosimple00
Summary: "The world of Remnant?" Jaune said holding the case in his hand. He looked up at Sun who grinned and gestured for him to keep reading. He rolled his eyes and looked back down at the case. "The world of Remnant is a sandbox-oriented massively multiplayer online role-playing game." He looked back at Sun. "Why do I get he feeling you want me to play this with you?"
1. Chapter 1

Project Remnant

~ 0 ~

I do not own RWBY

~ 0 ~

"_thoughts"_

"Speech"

'words with implied meaning.'

Regular text

"**Disembodied voice."**

"_**disembodied thoughts /Memories."**_

~ Prologue ~

"This is it, isn't it?" The knight said, looking up at the witch in the red dress. Those terrible burning amber eyes.

"What makes you say that?" She said, smirking down at the defeated knight. She caressed her blade, chuckling darkly as she sauntered over to him. All you had to do was give up, and none of this would have happened. This is all your fault."

The knight grit his teeth, squeezing his eyes shut. "Damn it!" He shouted, punching the ground. "Why?"

The witch laughed at him, walking around, making her way over to the young reaper laying dead, not more than a few paces away. "Because we were interested in you. That's why. I'll say you did put up a good fight, but in the end, you weren't good enough. Impressive for someone at your level, though. However." She scowled down at the reaper. "You should choose your friends better next time."

The Knight laughed bitterly. "Thanks for the advice, but she was my first friend. I would never throw that away."

The witch frowned, glaring at the dead reaper and kicked her body. "Stupid girl."

"Don't do that!" The knight shouted, rising to his knees, slashing at the witch. She brought her blade up faster than he could complete his swing and batted his feeble strike to the side before kneeing him in the face knocking him onto his back. He groaned, rolling onto his side, gripping at the dirt.

She studied him and rolled her eyes. "Why do you care what I do to her? It's not like it matters." She daintily crouched down in front of him, pulling his head up by the hair. "You showed so much promise. But I guess this is where your adventure ends. I was going to let you live and ask you to join us because she was interested in you, but I'm kind of itching to stab someone again."

"Fuck you." The knight said with a glare.

"Not interested." She frowned as her sword ran him through. He coughed, feeling weak, and looked down at the sword sticking out of his chest. "…Damn it."

She put her foot on his chest and pushed him off her blade, watching his body land next to the fallen reaper. "I take back what I said. You just got lucky."

~ .Hack/Roots O.S.T. Dwindled Bible ~

She stood up, sheathing her blade as she walked off, heading for a trail between the trees. There was a rustling in one of the bushed off the path, and she stopped to see if anyone else had been hiding. A body stumbled from the bushes before falling over.

She smirked as the brunet lay motionless.

"Well, gotta say. Didn't expect one to be hiding in the bushes." A tall assassin said as he walked out from behind a tree. He dusted his hands off, looking from the body up at the witch. "Man gotta say though." He looked over at the knight and reaper. "That was pretty cold even for you, Cinder. I think they were dating, and then you just… damn." He shook his head with a grim smirk.

Cinder gave him an aloof look and folding her arms, offering him a shrug. "Well, you didn't have to watch Mercury. You know how I do things." She tilted her head and continued down the path, placing a hand on her waist, a sway in her hips as she walked by him.

He watched her hips for a second before following after her."And miss the show? Are you kidding? It was great. Somewhat poetic. Gotta say that knight was pretty impressive all things considered. But then at the end." He facepalmed. "I mean? He turned down the offer without even considering it."

Cinder sighed, folding her arms again, frowning at the ground. "Yeah, I know."

"His loss." A third voice said from the tree above them.

Mercury looked up with a playful grin. "So you were watching to huh Em."

The girl up in the tree rolled her eyes and jumped down. "Well_, I _was watching the fight, not too sure what you had your eyes on, though." Mercury frowned as Emerald looked at Cinder and smiled. "Hey, Cinder." She said, giving a small wave to the witch.

"Nice to see you, Emerald." Cinder said, returning the gesture before heading off down the road. "You know it's almost time."

Mercury's eyes widened, and he slapped a fist down into his other hand. "Oh yeah, it is about that time, right? Man time flies."

"Idiot. Emerald said with a sigh."

"Hey, I bet you forgot too!" He shouted back.

Emerald smirked at Mercury. "Nu-uh. Eighteen hours, twenty-three minutes, forty-seven seconds, and counting."

Cinder laughed at the face Mercury's made as he blanched. "You have the time remaining memorized?"

Emerald grinned, offering him a victory sign. "Of course. That's when It all goes public, and the noobs will start to play. Ain't that right, Cinder?"

Cinder paused and looked up at the sky through a hole in the treetops admiring the god rays.

"Of course, but that does mean it'll be harder to find good people to join the guild though. Only the best of the best had access to the Beta after all. No telling what kind of scrubs will start playing once it goes public."

Emerald sighed, folding her arms, eyes closed. "Yeah, I guess you're right."

Mercury folded his arms behind his head and leaned back, looking up at the sky as well. "Hmm. I wonder if anyone interesting will join this time?"

Emerald nodded in agreement. "Hope it's not like the last one. The guild just fell apart."

Cinder sighed again, looking over her shoulder. "You know they had other things to do. Life takes precedence, and stuff came up. They still got on now and then."

Mercury grunted in acknowledgment while Emerald grumbled. "Still, the group just fell apart."

Cinder smiled back at her. "That's why we're looking for new members. This beta was a good opportunity to find some dedicated talent. Like… like last time."

The other two stopped and shot each other worried glances. They frowned and looked back at Cinder with sad looks. "I'm sure we'll find some more people," Emerald said, trying to be cheerful.

"Yeah, and we'll make the guild famous," Mercury added in.

Cinder stopped at the edge of a cliff they came up to and turned to look at them. The sun was setting, and it basked her in a golden glow that made her look stunning. "Thanks, you two."

They smiled warmly back at her walking up on either side of her and looked out over the Kingdom of Vale. "Well. The world of Remnant launches tomorrow. Are you guys ready?"

Mercury rubbed under his nose with a grin, and Emerald smirked, putting a hand on her waist. "Without a doubt." They said together.

~ Song End ~

~ Ch 1 ~

~ The world of what? ~

*De de de deet, de de de deet!*

"Ughnmmmm. Five more minutes."

The beeping stopped.

"The time is currently 7:45 am. You usually get up and dressed by 7:30 am. Traffic has occurred, and trains, as well as buses, are running fifteen minutes later than expected. If you do not leave by 8:00 am you will be late for your lecture Mr. Arc. Please get up."

*de de de deet, de de de deet, de de de deet!*

"Urgh. Alright, I'm up, I'm up." Jaune rolled out of bed with a groan, falling onto the floor with a huff. The beeping from his alarm stopped, and he opened an eye glaring at the android maid standing by his bedside table.

"Thank you for getting out of bed, sir." She turned and walked over to his bedroom door, stopping as she opened it. "I have set your clothes by the bathroom door. If you take a five-minute shower and get dressed in the same amount of time, you will have five minutes to eat breakfast I have prepared for you."

Jaune groaned as he got up and let out a sigh. "What's for breakfast?"

"BLT with a sunny side up, cooked well, and put on a slice of toast."

His stomach growled, and he took a deep breath. Now that he was up, he could smell the food from here. "Alright, I'll be there in ten."

"Very well, sir."The android left the room, but Jaune called after her, and she turned to look at him.

"Hey, wait."

She blinked at him and tilted her head. "Yes?"

He paused and rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment. "Thanks. For well, for everything." He smiled at her.

She just stared back at him. "Thanks are not necessary, sir. I am a maid created for the sole purpose of executing what is required of me to assist you in your day to day activities. I was purchased by A John Arc and instructed by Joan Arc to help you as you attend college."

Jaune frowned and looked away. "Yeah… I know." He took a deep breath. "Thanks anyway, Penny. I just wanted you to know I appreciate you."

The maid nodded and smiled at him, offering a bow. "Then I accept the praise, sir. It is good to know I am of use to you."

He looked back at her, taking in the appearance of her ginger hair and the pastel pink bow tying it up. Her deep green eyes and the cute freckles dusting her cheeks. That warm smile added with her custom uniform comprised of the small green and foliage colored dress along with the white top with her black stockings. The decent swell of her chest and the nice waist to hip ratio. He felt his cheeks flush, and he slapped himself mentally. What the hell was he thinking? She was an android for crying out loud!

"Sir."

He was pulled from his thoughts and looked back at her with the flush in his cheeks dying down. "Yeah, Penny?"

"It is 7:50. You no longer have time to eat breakfast here. I will pack it for you to eat at Beacon university."

"Shit!" He looked at the digital clock by his bed with wide eyes. "God damn it." He rushed passed her, throwing his clothes off as he went and jumped into the bathroom. The sound of the shower turning on accompanied by a shrill scream signaled he was taking an ice-cold shower.

Penny smiled while watching the door and shook her head as she moved to gather his clothes. "He is a strange man."She placed his clothes in the hamper by the washer and headed into the kitchen to pack his breakfast up. She looked down at the BLT and took the ketchup bottle writing a message on the egg. He always seemed a little happier when she wrote messages on his food. It was peculiar, but what did she know about humans?

~ 0 ~

Jaune rushed out of the bathroom, pulling his clean clothes on as he stumbled to the front door. He finished tightening up his tie and tried slipping his shoes on while pulling his coat on, but he tripped. "Oh shit." He closed his eyes, preparing for impact, but instead of hitting the floor, he landed against something warm and soft.

He opened his eyes, seeing Penny standing there, smiling at him with her arms wrapped around him. "P-Penny?"

She nodded. "That is my name."

He flushed straightening himself up and looked away. "Um, thanks again."

"You're welcome, sir."

He stood their looking at her. He'd never actually touched her before. It was strange but pleasant in a strange way. He'd expected her to be hard and cold, but she surprisingly wasn't. It felt the same as when he hugged his mom. Just what was she made of? He wondered silently.

He was pulled from his thoughts when he felt the tugging of his tie and looked down at Penny. She was straightening up his clothes with a small smile, and then she looked up at him. "There, now you look presentable, sir." She bent down, lifting a bag with a Tupperware inside and offered it to him. "Your breakfast, sir."

He took the bag quietly. This whole thing felt oddly familiar to the way he grew up seeing his mom treat his dad. It was a nice feeling, but he had to honestly wonder if it was a good or a bad thing. Hell, she wasn't human. This had to be wrong or bad for his mental health.

He looked at her smiling nervously. "Thanks, Penny, you're the best." He waved as he backed out the door.

She walked up to it and waved with a warm expressing, smiling back at him. "Have a good day, Jaune."

He felt his heartstrings tug and fought down the blush coming to his cheeks. Damn it. This android was going to ruin him for real women. He'd read somewhere that boys found girls that acted like their moms attractive and easy to be around and god damn it this android was proving it. He didn't know how he felt about that.

~ 0 ~

Penny watched her charge as he made his way down the hall and waved again when he looked back at her while waiting for the elevator. Once the doors had closed and he disappeared from view, she stepped back inside and closed the door, locking it. She turned to the empty apartment and sighed. A strange thing for an android to do, but she was the most advanced model there was. Decades ahead of anything else and one of a kind.

She walked over to the washer and hamper, checking the pockets of Jaune's dirty clothes for anything and found his billfold. She shook her head before putting his dirty clothes in with soap and freshener before starting it up. With that done, she washed what utensils and dishes she'd used to make Jaune his breakfast and set them on the drying rack. After that, she cleaned up the small mess around the stove, and then like clockwork, the phone rang.

**"Joan Arc calling."**

"Seras, answer the phone," Penny said while drying her hands.

**"Answering the phone."**

"_Hello, Penny."_

Penny walked into the living room where the phone was located and faced the holographic screen displaying the image of a beautiful blond woman in her late forties. She bowed to the image and smiled. "Salutations, Mrs. Arc. I hope you are having a good morning."

The woman, on the other end, smiled with a nod and then pulled out a seat from off-screen sitting down. _"Please, Penny, call me Joan. So tell me. How is my baby boy doing?"_

Penny smiled and then went on to tell her in detail about everything he'd told her about his day yesterday and how his morning went just now. When she finished, she looked at Joan, seeing her giggling softly. "Is something amusing, ma'am?"

Joan covered her mouth as she giggled and then waved Penny off. _"It's nothing, just. Well." She smiled at Penny. I'm glad he's doing better. I appreciate you taking care of him."_

Penny watched Joan with a calm expression. "Juan said the same thing this morning. I told him he did not need to thank me. It is my job to take care of him."

Joan shook her head with a smile and stood up._ "Well, then keep doing your job, Penny. It means a lot to us."_

With that, the call ended, and the hologram went dark before shrinking to the calling device. Penny looked over to the window at the sky outside. It was a calm, subdued day. The sky was cloudy and overcast but not in an ominous way. Light drizzle pattered against the window, and she frowned, looking over to the front door. An umbrella lay there. She remembered the news saying it would drizzle and rain later today. How had she forgotten to remind Jaune to take his umbrella?

With a nod, she made her way to the washer grabbing his billfold and then headed to the door putting on a trench coat before grabbing Jaune's umbrella and her own, then unlocking the door stepping outside. He'd need this, or he'd get soaked on his way home. He'd walk into the apartment cold and frowning, and that made her… something.

~ 0 ~

"And so what I was saying, theoretically, is this would create an economic boom. What you should…"

Jaune sighed, resting his chin on his palm as he looked out the window next to his row with a sigh. It was drizzling, and his scrolls weather app said it was gonna rain later. It figured he'd forgotten his umbrella. He groaned, letting his head drop to the desk covering himself with his arms.

First Cardin, the universities star quarterback had stolen his breakfast, which he hadn't even gotten to look at. The teasing he'd gotten about a girlfriend too good for him didn't help either.

On top of that, He'd been singled out as the piggy bank for the cheerleaders today and ended up spending what cash he had on him because he'd left his wallet at home like an idiot.

Now he wasn't a pushover, but he wasn't stupid either. If he'd refused them, then they would complain to the football team. That, in turn, would bring their collective wrath down on him. They had lots of fans and supporters, not to mention the fact anything they did short of murder, the school would let them get away with. Up shit creek without a paddle as the saying goes.

Honestly, the money didn't mean much to him. His family was wealthy due to his father winning a 14 billion Lien jackpot when he was around 7, and fortunately, his parents weren't stupid. They'd bought properties and stock in a few significant companies as well as starting their own, thus giving them a sizeable steady income. So funnily enough at the moment, they had more money in the bank and more credit than they did right after winning.

Call it a fluke on how they got into the 1 percent, but they sure as hell knew how to stay in it. Despite almost being born with a silver spoon in his mouth, his father had stressed to him and his siblings the importance of school and a good work ethic. He and his sisters had been given 10,000 Lien on their 18th birthdays and told to do whatever they wanted with it. His sisters had all spent it on material things and saved a bit of it while he had handed the money right back to his dad for a share of his companies stock. A good investment if the zeros in his bank account were anything to go by.

"So if the economy were to crash due to an artificial boost then…"

Hence his major in economics and his minor in business and statistics. His dad had seen potential in his decision and put him on the path to becoming a businessman. That was all well and good, but he'd learned early on the way money affected people and friends. His solution was to act and look poor, which wasn't very hard considering his taste In clothes.

It had been pretty easy, that is until Penny had shown up. She'd been sent by his parents to help make things easier for him, but she'd taken to getting his clothes ready and dressing him up in nice, expensive clothes. Her reason. _"The heir of the Arc estate and corporation should look the part." _His mother had agreed after seeing him over the feed from their call that day.

At first, things weren't so bad. The other rich kids, who had their parents paying for them, had mocked him after the repeated shows of his new choice in clothes and being driven to school in a limo on a particularly nasty day they'd finally caught on. Oh, the 'friends.' He could have made that day.

With another sigh, he let his arms slide off the table and turned to see Ruby looking at him from across the room. He smiled at her, but she quickly looked away with a frown.

He winced and looked back at the professor. She'd been treating him like that for a few months now. It all started back when they got Pk'ed. She'd been invited to the beta for some game he'd never heard of due to her skill in MMORPG's. She'd given him a key so they could play together, and so every day after class, he'd headed home with her and her sister to hop on, whatever the game had been called.

After a few days, she'd commented on how surprised she was. Jaune could keep up with her, and she mentioned he was pretty good skill-wise. It wasn't his first time playing a game like the one they'd been on, but he wasn't precisely a gamer. He did play games regularly, but he was more casual about it with single-player games on his PC.

After her praise and a couple more days, she'd told him they would do good in a higher level area, and so she'd headed off with him following close behind. Fifteen minutes into their last excursion together, they'd been attacked by another player who was a lot higher in levels than they'd been.

It hadn't been a fun experience. The girl had torn them apart with minimal effort, or at least he thought so. He'd barely been able to stay alive doing the best he could, but in the end, they'd both been killed.

He didn't think it was such a big deal at the time, but Ruby had freaked out and started to cry, saying something about losing access. He'd told her it was just a game and that it didn't matter. That had been the wrong thing to say.

She'd started yelling at him about how it was important, and he didn't get it. That he should pay more attention and be more empathetic, he'd responded with an apology which might have worked had he not followed it up with something along the lines of her being immature and needing to not dwell on the small stuff.

He honestly hadn't meant it in a mean way, but it had come out wrong, and she'd punched him so hard he'd fallen out of his chair before she ran out of the room sobbing. Her sister Yang had come in not even a second later with a glare that could kill. The last thing he remembered was a fist coming at his face. He honestly didn't remember how he got home that night only that Penny was there the next morning cooking him breakfast.

It had freaked him out, to say the least, but that's how he found himself here. With Ruby giving him the cold shoulder and ignoring him while her sister shot him glares whenever she could.

Their mutual friends seemed to know everything the next day and had sided with Ruby, or at least that's what it looked like. Nobody talked to him much anymore save for three people, and even Nora, the most energetic and friendly person he knew, didn't act the same around him. He understood that mutual friends didn't like getting in the middle of things, and more than half of them had been friends with her before him, but it was just so frustrating.

She'd been his first friend here at Beacon, and he'd been hers. They'd been hanging out since day one. He'd even tried apologizing to her. On several occasions to boot, but the best reaction he'd gotten was a silent nod, after which Yang stopped shoulder checking him in the halls.

"And that's all for today's class. Everyone, I expect your papers on the great depression and how it could have been avoided when we come back on Monday. I'll be in my office if anyone has any."

He sighed again, blocking out the rest of his professor's end of the class speech and looked to his left to stare out the window again. He blinked. Well, he would be staring out the window, but someone was standing next to his desk. He looked up, seeing a familiar smile. "Penny?"

"Good afternoon Jaune." She continued smiling at him and held out his umbrella. He looked down at it and blinked a couple more times before reality sank in. He sat up straight, taking the article and chuckled softly. He had to admit, just about whenever he started feeling down, she seemed to show up and somehow make his day just a little bit better. His grip tightened on the umbrella, and he smiled up at her. "Thanks, Penny."

She smiled down at him with a happy, closed-eyed expression. "You're welcome." He shook his head, leaning back in his seat. He never could understand just why she did those little things. It wasn't like she needed to, being an android and all. But he wouldn't lie. It did make him feel like he was talking with another person, and it had been a godsend the past few months.

"H-hey! Whoa. Excuse you."

Jaune turned to look at the commotion seeing the ends of a black and red dress slipping out the room and his friend Sun leaning awkwardly on a desk looking out the door at the person who'd just knocked him over. He sighed with a frown. "Ruby."

"Is everything alright, Jaune?" Penny asked from next to him. He just slumped in his chair, putting the umbrella on his desk and nodded. "Yeah, everything's alright. Thanks again, Penny."

He looked over to Sun, again seeing him grinning back as he straightened up. That look always meant they were going to go hang out. He smiled softly as Sun waved him over. The guy really was one of a kind. He never mistreated his friends, excluding the odd practical joke, and he'd made it a point to keep in touch and hang out at least once a week ever since the fallout. He grabbed his things and stood up, turning to Penny with a slightly less happy smile than before. "I think I'm gonna be home a little later today. I'll see you at home."

She looked back at him with an almost unnoticeable worried expression. Not thirty seconds ago, he'd seemed happier than when she'd arrived, and just like that, he'd slipped back into whatever funk he'd been in before. She frowned slightly and nodded. "Alright, I'll have dinner prepared for when you get home. Oh, yes, here." She pulled out his wallet and handed it to him. "You forgot this at home in your pants from yesterday."

He took the billfold and waved at her as he walked off to meet Sun. She watched him for a second and then frowned even deeper. "He doesn't have the Tupperware I sent him off with this morning."

~ 0 ~

"Hey, Jaune! So, how's it going?" Sun said as they walked out of the lecture hall. The tan blond had his arm wrapped around Jaune's shoulders and was half dragging half leaning on him as they made their way to the nearest exit.

He looked at Sun, lifting his free hand, making a so so gesture. "Eh, it could be better. Got pinched for what cash I had on me today."

"Oooh. Ouch. Was it the cheerleaders again? Or did Coco give you the talk about investing in a future clothes designer again."

Jaune sighed as he pushed the door open, lifting his umbrella and opening it. "It was both."

Sun shook his head. "Dude, you gotta stop letting them walk all over you like that," Sun said, pulling his umbrella out as well. "I mean Coco is alright considering she actually uses the money for something constructive and she does remember favors. But the cheerleaders? Man, you know they have fans and boyfriends ready and willing to buy them whatever they want, right?"

Jaune nodded as the two of them headed off-campus. "Yeah, I know it's just… easier." He said after a pause. "You know, to give it to them. I already went to the Dean, and he said there was nothing he could do, considering the football team and cheerleaders are the main staples of Beacon. This being a sports college first and foremost with sciences being second."

Sun frowned at that. "Yeah, I remember. Can't believe he's letting the son of two big donating alumni get bullied."

Jaune chuckled bitterly and shrugged. "Cardin and his gang, as well as Nebula and her group, are all third-generation students as well, though. You and me both major in economics, so you know as well as I do siding with me would put him at risk of losing finances for the school."

Sun grumbled, putting his hands in his pockets. "Doesn't make it fair or right."

They glanced at each other with small smirks speaking at the same time. "But theoretically, what I was saying is, is that it would cause economic destabilization and throw the system into chaos."

They both started laughing, and Sun punched his shoulder. "I swear that guy, professor Port, can be such a weirdo. Theoretically, this and theoretically that. He never gives a straight answer."

Jaune shook his head, grinning as they turned onto the main street. "We're in college. You know what they say, it's all theory until it works."

Sun made a mock thinking pose and hummed. "Then why do they still say theory it has to have worked before, right? I mean, I'm paying them to teach me stuff that'll work in the real world, right?"

Jaune gasped, going wide-eyed. "Am I wasting my money?"

Sun burst out laughing and slapped Jaune's back. "Okay, let's head over to that pizza place you like, what was it called again?"

Jaune shot Sun a sidelong glance and a smirk. "You mean Blake?"

Sun snapped yeah Blake, and then we'll hit up Mr. Robot. There's this game I think you'll like I wanna get ya."

Jaune smiled at Sun, waiting for it to hit him. Sun just looked over at him as they made their way down the sidewalk. "What?"

Jaune rolled his eyes and pushed Sun with his shoulder chuckling a bit. "Nothing, man. Alright, lead the way." He said, gesturing for Sun to take the lead.

"Thank you." The tanned blond said, stepping in front.

"After all, ladies first." Jaune tacked on with a sly grin.

"Arc!" Sun yelled at his friend, throwing a lazy punch at him that Jaune dodged before he shot off down the sidewalk laughing with Sun hot on his heels yelling about smartasses and blonds.

~ 0 ~

Thirty minutes later, the two were sitting outside the pizzeria called 'Bonum Cibum,' under one of the large umbrellas. The inside had been packed due to the rain now falling freely down around the city. They'd decided to sit outside despite the weather and ordered a grilled chicken, bacon, and mushroom pizza with Alfredo sauce and double cheese.

"So, what's the game you wanted to show me?" Jaune asked as their waitress put the pizza down on their table.

"One grilled chicken, bacon, and mushroom pizza with Alfredo sauce and double cheese." She looked at the two of them, putting the towel she used for carrying the pizza over her shoulder. "Don't know why you guys like it so much. Anyways, as usual, my name is Blake, just call if you need anything else. Well, enjoy, later Jaune."

The blonde smiled at her as he took a slice and waved. "Will do Blake." He said as he bit his slice, lapping up the melted cheese falling from the slice he'd just taken a bite out of. He was watching Sun in amusement as he stared after her. He looked too, and he hated to admit it, but he followed the sway of her hips as she walked back inside.

It was funny though now that he thought about it. He knew several of the people who worked here from ordering and eating out here so much, but she'd always been the one to deliver his pizza when he ate here and funnily enough, she more often than not delivered to his apartment too.

He wondered why but chalked it up to the big tips he always left or gave. Quality pizza and good service, not overly friendly and good for a conversation when the time struck. This was his favorite place to eat, and it had quickly become Sun's as well after he'd shown it to him, but the reason was obviously not the pizza. He chuckled and took a swig from his coke as Sun watched her walk off absentmindedly, trying to pick up a slice.

"God damn Jaune. I can't believe you kept this place to yourself for so long." He said, taking a bite from the slice he'd finally managed to find.

Jaune rolled his eyes, putting his drink down. "You talking about the pizza place or Blake?"

Sun looked over at him so fast, Jaune wondered if he had whiplash. "You know her name?" He put the slice down, leaning over the table. "You gotta help a bro out and set me up." He pleaded, clapping his hands together.

Jaune shook his head, taking another bite from his slice. "You know she wears a nametag, right?" Sun looked at him, dumbfounded. "She even gave her name when she said she'd be serving us if we needed anything else." He added. Looking around, he smiled sheepishly. "Don't think she's too happy about having to come out here, though. Kinda strange too, I've only ever seen her take the tables inside." With a shrug, he took another large bite of his pizza.

Sun lifted his slice to his mouth and took a violent bite as he leaned an elbow on the table, resting his head on his free hand, giving Jaune the stink eye. "I swear to god Jaune, your 4.0 GPA is not an accurate indicator of your I.Q. Is it."

Jaune Scowled at his friend with a mouth full of pizza. He chewed and then swallowed. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Sun took another bite of his slice, eyeing Jaune carefully. "Yup, just like lead."

Jaune's eyes narrowed, and he sipped his drink again. "Was that a dense joke?"

Sun groaned and facepalmed. "How can you be so sharp and good with economics and statistics yet be so clueless." He looked up at the sky, gesturing to Jaune. "Why, God, why? Why did you bless him so much and then drop him on his head?"

Jaune's jaw dropped, and he threw an ice cube at Sun. "Hey, go fuck yourself, man." He shouted in mock anger. "I should be asking why he left me with you as a friend. I swear I can't tell if you hang out with me for the pizza and the girls or me."

The two fell into laughter as the sky rumbled above, and Sun flicked off the sky. "Hey, fuck you too, buddy."

Jaune started wheezing and then patted Sun on the shoulder. "Don't think he swings that way, buddy."

Sun's jaw dropped, and he punched at Jaune, who slid away, almost falling out of his seat. "Fuck you too, Jaune."

Jaune roared with laughter. "No, thanks, I'm straight. Besides, weren't you eyeing Blake not five minutes ago?"

Sun rolled his eyes and grabbed another slice. "Haha, very funny, asshole."

Jaune grabbed another slice as well and grinned. "Actually, I'm not an asshole."

Sun lifted an eyebrow and smirked. "I don't think you understand how this works, I call you an asshole, and that's that. You don't get a say."

Jaune raised a finger. "Uh uh uh. Oh, contrary, my dear friend. I am not an asshole, because I..." He gestured to himself, taking another bite from his slice. "...Am a jackass."

Sun lifted an eyebrow. "Uh-huh. And what's the difference?"

Jaune wiped his mouth. "An asshole is full of shit."

Sun sat there quietly with a stern look on his face. Jaune looked back and just took another bite of his pizza. Slowly but surely, he could see Sun's mask crumbling as he resisted the urge to laugh, still having food in his mouth. "Need a napkin buddy?" Jaune said, holding out the dispenser.

Sun grabbed a few and coughed his food into the pile as he let out a choked laugh, spluttering for breath. "God damn it, Jaune. Why weren't you like this back in high school?"

Jaune shrugged. "Who knows. So tell me, this game you wanted to show me?"

~ 0 ~

"The world of Remnant?" Jaune said, holding the case in his hand. He looked at the cover seeing a few people sitting and standing on the side of a hill overlooking a medieval town with large Gothic structures. He flipped it around, looking at the back. There were several more characters designed around the text.

"The world of Remnant. A sprawling fantasy MMORPG." He looked up at Sun, who grinned and gestured for him to keep reading. He rolled his eyes and looked back down at the case.

"The world of Remnant is a sandbox-oriented massively multiplayer online role-playing game. Specifically created to handle the fast rendering required for its seamless world and large scale castle sieges and guild wars. Free to play with a pay to play model."

He took a breath and continued.

"The combat in The world of Remnant is action-based, requiring manual aiming via Head-mounted display using an Augmented Virtual Reality Headset or AVRH. Skills can be activated through the use of combos for attacking, dodging, or blocking. The game offers housing, fishing, farming, and trading as well as many other activities to support the in-game economy, as well as a large in-depth player vs. player system."

~ 0 ~

He sighed and looked at Sun. "Do I really have to read all of this?"

Sun nodded. "Yes, now keep going." with another sigh and a deep breath, he went on.

~ 0 ~

"the game includes a number of features to assist with immersion and the sandbox aspect. These include:"

"A dynamic, worldwide weather system which will include large-scale events such as typhoons and will influence gameplay. Localized weather will include events such as temporary fog which players may exploit to launch surprise attacks on rival guilds or ambush unsuspecting players."

"A dynamic day/night cycle with gradual progression of lighting effects. During the night, some NPCs will become unavailable as they return home, and monsters will drop moor loot. Different game content will be available depending upon whether it is night or day."

"Player housing will be instanced and will vary in size and location. Players will be able to furnish and equip their housing by purchasing furniture through NPC's or through crafting."

"The active combat system requires a fast connection speed and precise manual aiming, dodging and comoboing, unlike in the tab-targeting system seen in older MMORPGs."

"Players will also be able to engage in mounted combat. Mounts are acquired by taming in the wild, and players are able to breed special mounts by mating certain types. Mounts require feeding and care, cannot be stored in the inventory, and can be killed."

"The world of Remnant takes place in a high fantasy setting and revolves around the conflict between several nations. The kingdom of Vale, The Corporate Republic of Atlas, The Mistral Federation, and the Free nation of Vacuo with a neutral fifth country shrouded in mystery."

"Vale is a very hands-off monarchy where the crown is stationed to protect the people. National pride and patriotism are found in the hearts of every citizen."

"The Corporate Republic of Atlas is very materialistic and military-minded. Technological advancement and military might are the country's focus with a cold and calculating citizenry."

"The Mistral Federation is home to many peoples some criminal and some the most honorable on Remnant. What they all have in common is a distaste for strong government and value of their independence."

"The free nation of Vacuo it the smallest and least confrontational country. Sitting in a major trade spot, they are left alone, being seen as a neutral power to hold such an advantageous position. The people of this country are dedicated yet lazy and love their adventures."

"The fifth nation is neither known nor named and will remain so until the conflict between the nations has settled."

"Long before the events of 'The world of Remnant,' the four main kingdoms were at peace. This all changed when merchants from Mistral working for the powerful crime families in the federation start to spread a plague. The plague was known as the star scourge."

"Many people from around the world died due to this sickness. Those who suffer it but do not perish are expelled due to paranoia. Eventually, the other three kingdoms realize the enemy, Mistral. The three regions make an alliance and start a war, while Mistral itself is in the middle of their own civil war.

"The war lasted 40 years, two generations. Atlas Profiting the most. This is due to their harvesting of dust crystals and building mines in their allies' lands to help the war effort and remaining after the conflict had ended and thus monopolizing the acquisition of dust."

"After the war came to a complete end and tensions lowered the three kingdoms supported the Royal families of Mistral in taking the country from the crime families and began trading freely once more. However, tensions rose again when the others discover the importance of dust after the first wave of Grimm attacked the Kingdom of Vale."

"Desperate to gain wealth and defend their homelands, the others started to search for dust. Atlas has no area that harbors deposits of dust and so refused to relinquish control of their mines in the other nations while using their advanced technology and weaponry to stretch their control over Mistral, which was the richest in this precious mineral due to their crystal forests."

"This raised conflict with the Kingdom of Vale, who had sworn to protect their new allies in the Federation of Mistral."

~ 0 ~

Jaune finished reading and took a deep breath. Something about the story felt very familiar to him. He couldn't quite put his finger on it. Maybe he'd read this somewhere while surfing the internet. "Hey, Sun, when did this come out?"

His friend beamed at him and folded his arms behind his head. "Pretty dope, right? It came out like five months ago, so it's been around long enough to pick up, and the cool thing is that it just keeps getting more and more players. There's even E-sports for it and real money prizes for ranking guilds."

Jaune nodded and turned the case back over studying the front. Something about the image felt familiar. He shook his head and looked at Sun. "So, you want me to buy this?"

"Uh-huh." His friend nodded.

"And you want me to download it as soon as I get home and play it?"

"Yup." The other blond boy grinned.

"And you've been playing this for how long?"

Sun rubbed a finger under his nose. "Been no-lifeing it since launch. When I'm not at school, that is — or flirting with girls. Or eating. Or."

"Okay, I get it. You play it a lot." Jaune said, holding his hand up. "So, you have to be a really high level, right?"

Sun nodded, letting his arms drop. "Yeah, the level cap is 300, and I'm at 182. Anything over 100 is a major grind unless you have the in-game money to buy level potions. But those are frigin expensive."

Jaune frowned at the case. "So it's pay to win?"

Sun shook his head and grinned. "Nope. There's no premium currency, and only in-game money can buy things. Which is a pain to grind out, which is why the economy is such a big thing."

Jaune looked at Sun with a deadpan expression. "So, you want me to start playing to help you make money?"

Sun grinned sheepishly, scratching the back of his head. "Come on, man, you're like the best student in Mr. Ports class, and you've got a 4.0 GPA. You'll make a killing in the game. I'm sure you'd move up fast. Besides, you don't have to fight to level up and get stronger in the game."

Jaune eyed Sun. "Please, do tell."

Sun smiled, knowing he'd at least caught Jaune's attention. The guy loved to mess with economics and was always finding ways to get better at the stock market. "Well, you see, Exp is a flat thing in this game. You earn it for doing quests, missions, and requests as well as mediating things for other players as well as trading because it helps keep the game's economy floating, not just from killing monsters or other players."

Jaune nodded following so far.

"Okay, well. Exp is like souls in Souls Borne. You collect it, and it stays on you until you go to a kingdoms cathedral and deposit them into this thing called the Ether of naught. When you have enough, you can either unlock abilities for combat or levels for flat stat boosts in every category based on class."

Sun made a weighing gesture with his hands. "So technically You can dump everything into abilities and still kill much higher level characters so long as you play right. The level boosts are there for increasing the amount of HP, SP, AP, MP, Physical attack, Magical attack, and the defense for both as well as durability of your character."

"Then there are traits like Dexterity, Agility, Evasion, Intelligence, Wisdom, Charisma, and resilience." Sun looked at Jaune, who was rubbing the bridge of his nose. "You still following me, buddy?"

Jaune sighed and nodded. Yeah, it sounds pretty complicated when you say it, but I'm sure it' a lot more simplistic and intuitive than it sounds." Sun looked at Jaune, impressed and then grinned, continuing.

"Okay, well, good. Anyways. As I was saying. Levels. You have access to every ability from the get-go and can get any of them so long as you put the experience into getting them. So you technically can get the ultimate abilities at level 1, but there's a catch. They all have requirements. Not level ones mind you but stat requirements."

"Abilities require certain stats in the second half of the ones I told you about. Dexterity and whatnot. You get a set level to each starting based on class, and you get five skill points for every level to put into them. They let you use abilities to different effects and even unlocks Heroic versions of them when you allocate the right combination of stats. The downside is you can go over requirements, and it'll revert back to master versions. There are, however, several levels to attain heroic versions."

Sun hummed and then snapped. "For example, I had a staff skill that could knock people out and had this cool animation because it was a heroic version that required x amount in dex and agility. I lost it because I put too many points in dex while leveling. It didn't have as cool an animation anymore, and it only stunned people. By complete accident, I unlocked it again at a much higher level."

Jaune sighed, rubbing his temples, and nodded. "Alright, I get it. It's to keep a balance between newer players and vets and min maxing." He looked at Sun, who had a curious look on his face.

"Oh yeah, I never thought of that. I figured it was a cool bonus you could get on accident."

Jaune shook his head. Sun could be brilliant, but he could be really dense at times as well. He flinched at the look on Sun's face. "What's up?" He asked.

Sun frowned, narrowing his eyes. "I got the feeling a pot was calling a kettle black."

Jaune laughed nervously. "Why would you feel that?"

Sun sniffed and rubbed his nose. "Uh-huh? Well anyways. Now, as for the secret part of abilities. Any class can use any ability so long as you have the right weapon equipped, the drawback to that is that you can only use weapons and armor based off of stats you have and equipment is everything in this game. If you have inferior equipment, you die. So a high-level knight using a low-level staff to use the healing spell he just got would heal him for jack shit. Thus making it possible to waste points and time easily. However, there are abilities that complement each other, which brings a whole new strategy into character building."

"Now, why have classes anyways you might ask. Well, that's simple. Classes decide what flat boosts you get to stats upon leveling up. Like I said before, each level gives you five skill points to allocate yourself while doing the rest automatically. There are also no diminishing returns so you can get pretty broken really fast, but then you'll have a fuck ton of weaknesses. Glass cannon does not begin to describe it. Not when your own abilities can damage you so easily due to environment and such. I do not recommend dumping all stats in one or two things. There are people who hunt people who do that."

Jaune nodded. "Which brings me to the next topic," Sun said cheerily. "Exp can be stolen when you get PK'ed or player killed, which is why it takes so long to level up. There are jackasses who camp fields in lower level areas and farm noobs or people weaker."

Jaune was trying to wrap his head around all of this and groaned, feeling a headache. He didn't really wanna do this, but the initial info about the in-game economy had him intrigued, and the leveling system seemed pretty interesting, new anyways. He looked down at the case and then up at Sun. "So, You are buying it for me, right?"

Sun grinned. "Only if you promise to help my guild with your economic prowess."

Jaune thought back to the beta he'd played with Ruby all those months ago. He remembered the girl who killed them specifically.

~ 0 ~

Why don't you leave your friend and come with me? Join my guild, and we can help you progress faster. All you have to say is yes, and I won't kill you." She smiled down at him with an interested gleam in her eyes.

He looked over at Ruby's dead avatar and frowned. "No, thanks. I think I know who my friends are."

~ 0 ~

Oh, how wrong he'd been. He forced a smile to show Sun and nodded. "Alright, but I'm not joining. You gotta pay me a contractors fee."

Sun looked shocked. "What! No way."

Jaune handed him the game and shrugged. "You said I was good at economics, and part of that is business. Never do something your good at for free."

Sun took the game following him to the counter. "But, I'm buying you the game!"

Jaune nodded. "That you are. But that'll only get me to play not work for you." He finished with a cheese-eating grin.

"Oh, come on, man, please," Sun begged, putting the game on the counter as the attendant rang it up. "At least consider joining eventually."

Jaune sighed and shook his head with a smile at Sun. "Alright, I'll consider it."

Sun grinned, slapping the cash on the money tray and gave him a thumbs up. "We'll blow your mind. You'll be begging to join."

Jaune laughed, picking up the bag the attendant handed him and started heading for the exit. "We'll see Sun."

~ 0 ~

The hard patter of rain drew Penny's attention as she set a plate of food down on the table. There was a boom of thunder, and she frowned, looking over at the clock on the wall. It was already 8:00 pm, and Jaune still wasn't home yet. She was starting to get worried as to why he wasn't back yet. Had he gotten lost? Did he decide to stay at a friend's, like he used to a few months ago?

She pulled out the chair across from the plate and sat down, straightening out her dress then putting her hands in her lap. She sat there in the kitchen, waiting again, looking at the plate of food she'd reheated several times already.

She sighed and looked out the window again when there was the audible click of the door lock. She quickly stood up and rushed over to the front door just as Jaune was putting his umbrella down and taking his shoes off.

"Welcome home, Jaune." She said with a smile.

He looked up with a tired expression, but a wide, warm smile spread across his face when he saw her. His shoulders dropped as he shrugged his coat off with a relieved sigh. "Hey, Penny. I'm home."

She nodded and took his coat, continuing to smile as she put it up for him. "Its good to see you home safe, Jaune." She turned back to him, closing the hallway closet and picked up his things.

"It's alright, Penny I've got them." He reached for his things, but Penny stepped back, shaking her head.

"You've been out all day. You need to rest. I'll go put your things on your desk." with that, she walked off, and he just stared at her. Had she, an android, told him no? He shrugged it off. It didn't matter. He could smell something heavenly wafting out from the kitchen.

He went in and saw the plate of curry sitting on the table. His mouth watered. He closed his eyes, taking in a deep breath as he got closer. This was one of the reasons he loved Penny. She was an amazing cook. The saying it's not like momma's cooking could not be said about her. Somehow, someway, she was able to replicate all of his favorites, and it always brought back fond memories.

Sitting down, he clapped his hands together. "Thank you for the mean." As he picked up his spoon, he heard the chair across from his scoot back and looked up to see Penny smiling at him as she sat down.

"What's up, Penny?"

She blinked, looking at him curiously. "The ceiling. Why?"

He smiled, letting out a loud laugh as he scooped up a spoonful of curry and rice. "That's not what I meant. But you know what. It's totally Penny."

Penny tilted her head and blinked with a small frown. "What does that mean?"

Jaune chewed his food and swallowed before putting his elbow on the table, resting his head on his hand with an amused smile. "Penny." He said quietly.

"Yes?" She leaned in closer.

"Don't ever change." He said, his smiling falling to a more relaxed, happy one.

**~ 0 ~**

**~ Authors notes ~**

**And that's a wrap. I hope you guys find this entertaining. Well, let me know if you guys enjoy it. Next chapter ~ character creation ~ Till next time.**


	2. Chapter 2

Project Remnant

~ 0 ~

I do not own RWBY

~ 0 ~

"_Thoughts"_

"Speech"

'words with implied meaning.'

Regular text

**Menu info**

**"Disembodied voice."**

**"**_**Disembodied thoughts /Memories."**_

~ Ch 2 ~

~ Character creation ~

"Hmmm. Zzzzzzzzz."

"Jaune."

"Zzzzzzz. Mmm. Jus… just a litt, zzzzzz."

"Jaune, please wake up."

*Snokcccccccc*

Penny sighed with an amused expression and walked over to Jaune's desk, looking at the computer. She read all of the pop-ups and notifications displayed on the screen again.  
It was asking for permission to finish calibrating and installing the custom software and programs for the new hardware that Jaune had installed on his PC.

She looked away from the screen at her charge, seeing him hug his pillow, rolling over in his bed fitfully. He'd been out so late yesterday because he didn't own the hardware or have the necessary software programs to play a new game he'd bought. He'd even stayed up till almost 1 in the morning getting everything set up.

Her gaze returned to the computer pulling out his chair before sitting down as she clicked the notifications and typed away at the keyboard.  
He'd more or less finished everything himself, but the things he'd set up to install had massive files and would take a couple of hours to download, install, run and then verify.  
So being only human, he'd told her he was going to take a short nap and asked her to wake him up when everything finished. She'd tried just that, but she didn't want to be as invasive as she usually was since he didn't have to be up.  
He'd had a rough time of it since she'd come to care for him. He'd been sleeping less and less soundly over the last few months as well.

It had something to do with his social life, she was sure. He always seemed so put out and exhausted after classes. He told her all about his days, including the downs. He never seemed to care, though, like he'd given up on something.  
Now she wasn't a medical droid, and she didn't have any sophisticated medical software, but she knew basics, and she could tell he was suffering from depression. Now how severe, she couldn't tell, but it didn't seem too bad.  
She'd notified Joan about her son's state of mind as well, but she'd just told her to be his friend. To be there for him, whatever he needed.

She finished creating the necessary shortcuts for the clients and set up his official accounts with the providers based on the information he used for everything else then looked at the game he bought. It was sitting on the desk next to the monitor. She'd picked up the case earlier and read all of the information on the back. Much of her night had consisted of researching all the information on the game she could find. Nothing suggested it would be of any concern save for the main focus of the game being player vs. player.

Looking back at Jaune, she frowned. Besides his blond friend Sun and the pizza girl who always seemed to deliver, It had been a while since he'd interacted with others on a more than passing basis, herself excluded. She knew she was a machine and all that implied.  
What that meant, though, was that her being his primary source of interaction wasn't entirely healthy.

She had tried to learn human behavior to make up for her deficiency in not being human and even asked his mother for help.  
She learned from TV and the internet, but he always reacted despondently, as if going through the motions. So she'd taken to trying to imitate his mother. The cooking and housekeeping lessons from her helped. She even emulated her for his sake.

It was strange how his mother would question her as to why she was doing such things. It was apparent, was it not? She wanted the best for her charge and was doing what it took to give him that though her charge's mother had commented on that. Told her a machine wouldn't go out of its way to do its job. Her only response to that was to tell Joan that her father had said she was special.

She sighed and turned back to the monitor. Even with the PVP aspect, this game might be useful to him. It would encourage interaction with others on more than a superficial basis of saying hello.  
It also supported a vast, realistic economy that could help him with his studies or at least the practical application of it without worrying about real-world consequences.

She grabbed the game, popping the case open and extracted the disk before sliding it into the computer, letting it load up. Another notification popped up, asking for permission to download and install the proper client as well as the game, which would take another 3 hours.

She blinked, a strange feeling coming to her. Looking over her shoulder at Jaune, she felt happy he hadn't woken up. The programs hadn't finished installing yet, and he did indeed need his sleep. Looking at the clock on his bedside, she frowned. It read, 3:45 a.m. Not even two hours since he'd fallen asleep. She just wanted him to be happy, and he loved his sleep despite his fitful nights and seeming spontaneous bouts of insomnia.  
He'd told her to wake him up, but she just hadn't been able to bring herself to do it.

She clicked allow on the window and got up from the seat, leaving it where it was so as not to make any more noise than she had to. She walked over to Jaune's bedside and sat down, watching him frown in his sleep, where he hugged his pillow tighter, his forehead creasing.

"I'm… I'm sorry. So… So sorry." He said between breaths, twisting in his sleep.

She frowned, leaning over him to brush his hair out of his face and massaged his head comfortingly. Another thing she'd learned from Joan.  
Jaune settled down almost instantly, and he rubbed his head against her hand as a small smile moved his lips. She smiled back and moved to get up, but he grabbed her hand in his, and she stopped, looking back at him.

"Thank you…zzzzzz." She shook her head. Ever the punctual young man. It amazed her sometimes how aware yet dense he could be like when it came to the pizza girl.  
She reached down to release his grip around her hand when he pulled her down. He turned to face her with bleary eyes as she fell next to him. "mmmm…." She lay there quietly and gently caressed his cheek, watching as his eyelids grew heavy again. "Whats… whats… going…"

"Shhhh." She gently shushed, moving her face closer, kissing his forehead.

"Mmm. Penny."

She'd blinked curiously. Why had Jaune said her name? She thought he'd have said, mom. After all, it was her that she was imitating and yet for some reason.  
She shifted slightly and pulled his head against her breasts to help him feel more comfortable. A soft hum left her as she ran her fingers through his hair, and she began to sing softly.

"Close your eyes. It's okay.  
It's just the end of a long, long day.  
Go to sleep. Everything's alright, and I'll sing a lullaby.  
It's time for you to get some rest, but you know who I love the best.  
So come on darling, breath a sigh, and I'll sing a lullaby.  
Goodnight…goodnight. Let the moon pour down his light.  
Goodnight…goodnight, till the morning comes.  
Close your eyes and drift away. It's just the end of a long, long day, but anytime the world's not right, you can sing this lullaby.  
Yes, any time, the world's not right. You can sing this lullaby."

She ended her song but continued to hum while gently running her hands along his back and through his hair as his breathing evened out again. She smiled against the top of his head and held him close, hoping he would sleep soundly tonight. "Goodnight, Jaune."

~ 0 ~

The smell of bacon and eggs along with rice and miso soup wafted through the air, making Jaune wake up. He sat up slowly with a stupid smile on his face. He felt terrific but somewhat strange. He lifted his arms above his head, feeling his back pop, and he groaned in pleasure as everything set.  
He wiped some drool from the corner of his mouth and reached for his bedside table only to catch open air, gravity starting to pull him down.  
His eyes opened wide, and he yelped as he fell out of his bed, his head hitting the floor with a crash. "Ouch…. Well, that woke me up," he grumbled.

"Jaune?" He heard Penny call from the kitchen. "Are you alright?"

He sighed quietly, gathering his feet under him and rubbed his head with a wince. "Yeah, I'm alright, Penny." He heard the sound of footsteps growing nearer as he fixed his shirt and yawned. "Haaa… Just fell out of bed is all. What's for breakfast? It smells good. I wonder…" He trailed off, hearing something he'd never heard before.  
It was musical and heartwarming. Jaune stood completely still and looked towards his open door seeing Penny standing there covering her mouth as she laughed. She. Penny. Was laughing. "Um. Penny?"

Penny took a breath and walked over to him, patting his hair down. "You have bed hair, Jaune. It looks like a cockatoo."

He blinked, looking at her with a confused expression, but he couldn't help the stupid smile on his face from growing. She'd been doing things like this more and more frequently. The human behavior that is. It was strange, to say the least, but he couldn't lie, he did like it.  
It made him wonder if he was going crazy though sometimes. He'd even asked his mother about it, and she'd said it was nothing to worry over. The singularity wasn't about to happen, she'd joked. She even followed it up by saying Penny wouldn't let it, just for him.

What she'd said hadn't answered his question and made him scratch his head at the time, but his mother had never misled him before, so he'd just shrugged it off — looking down at Penny with the same smile he let her fix his hair. Call him strange, but it felt the same way his mom used to do it.  
He was starting to enjoy it and closed his eyes, sighing contently when she removed her hands and stepped back.

"There. All better." She said, smiling back at him before she turned to leave the room only to pause at the doorway. Her head turned, and she looked over her shoulder at him with a bright, cheerful look on her face. "As for breakfast, I made fried rice with egg, bacon, and a side of miso soup with noodles to go with it. A treat since it's the weekend."  
She looked out the window in his room and frowned. Her nose was doing the same thing his mother's nose always did when she was dissatisfied with something. "The weather outside is colder than usual, though."  
She turned to face him with a stern motherly look, making him feel like a kid again. "Please get dressed in something warm even if you aren't going out. Then you can come and eat. I've already set the table."

With that she left, Jaune following her to the door watching her as she left. A warm feeling spread through him. He eventually just shook his head, a broad grin forming on his face. He folded his arms and leaned against the doorframe laughing softly. "What in the world?"

~ 0 ~

Jaune sat at his computer, letting out a sigh as he put down the empty cup of green tea Penny had made for him after breakfast. He stretched his arms above his head and yawned, feeling a little lethargic after eating and hoped the caffeine kicked in soon.  
He opened up the game launcher for The world of Remnant that was displayed on his desktop watching as the launcher program opened up and verified all files. He thought a bit about Penny's behavior over the past few months since meeting her and more so this month just past specifically.

He noted that she was acting more human than any android he'd ever heard about even ones programmed to be that way, and despite being a machine, she seemed to do little things that would throw anyone off. Like right now, he could hear her humming while washing the dishes. Then there were the facial expressions and the messages she'd write on or in his food when she sent him to class with breakfast or lunch.

It was so real that a lot of people at school though she was his girlfriend or fiance in some cases. The idea was so weird for multiple reasons, but he couldn't deny she felt like the perfect housewife. She was so much like his mother it stunned him. He could see why people got the wrong idea.

He shook the thoughts from his head, grabbing his AVRH, and walked over to his bed, putting it on as he lay down, the sound of the game launching in the background. Just like his other games, he felt the strange feeling of losing awareness of the world around him as the headsets blocked out everything and his vision? Er mind's eye? Whatever it was and however it worked, came up.

When he'd first bought the generation 1 AVRH, his dad had commented on how when he was growing up, the most advanced stuff they had was a head-mounted display that could alter what you saw and heard and could still read mental input but it didn't cancel out external stimuli.  
It was slower and used companion handsets his father had taken out from a box of old belongings and shown him.  
He'd never heard the term before buying 'The world of Remnant,' but it must have been what was meant by tab targeting.

The AVRH, however, blocked all signals sent to the brain and processed them so that any action thought while the program was active only affected the virtual world or anything the headset displayed, such as menu screens. Its secondary function, which he'd read, was an accidental byproduct was that it immobilized the user's physical body.

There were newer versions that didn't immobilize you, but they weren't as popular and mostly for people with medical issues or those who didn't like the feeling of practically being in sleep paralysis.  
The headset was more a helmet than mounted display as well, but it did have a screen on the inside.  
It had some pretty complicated sensors and emitters in it that he wouldn't even claim to know how exactly they worked. But he knew what they did more or less and got the general gist.

The headset basically generated electromagnetic waves at the same frequency the brain operated on to stimulate the brain. His dad had told him about an old game from 2012 and another in 2017 that had put people into a coma and caused mass hysteria. It did it somehow through specific sound frequencies and a sound they heard while playing.  
The idea had sent shivers up his spine, but his dad assured him the technology was scrapped and the company who made it as well as the game had been shut down way back in 2019. His dad had only been about ten at the time.

Well, the AVRH wasn't sound-oriented, and he'd read up on it, finding that there were no health risks like your brain frying or anything like that. Even if the device somehow managed to stop you from moving, it couldn't halt natural functions like your heart beating.  
This was because those functions could only be stopped via a substantial amount of electricity disrupting the synapses in the brain or by forcing enough amperes through your body in a small amount of time to stop brain functions or the heart.  
Neither of those things the hardware was capable of. So, all in all, it was safe and a good way to disconnect from reality and play games.

~ 0 ~

A sigh escaped him, or did it? As yet another menu screen with notifications popped up. He was getting rather sick of all these pop-ups and menus. He just wanted to get to the game and start playing. He looked at the clock in the top right of the HUD, seeing it was just past 8:00. Sun told him yesterday he wouldn't be on till around 1:00, so he had a few hours to get into the game and get used to it before meeting up with him.

He took a deep breath and reached out going through the different menus setting up the brightness, contrast, saturation, and whatnot along with selecting personal sensitivity settings and calibrating the targeting system before the game finally popped up.  
"The world of Remnant," He said quietly while looking at the sprawling landscape passing by and under him, giving a slow overview of the large map. "Well, let's get started." He hit the log in button and.

**Error.**

"What? What do you mean error!" He hit the login button again, receiving the same message. With a huff, he tapped the more information tab next to the error message.

**An account with this email and/or an Altimate account already exists. Please enter the correct password.**

"Huh? What do you mean there's already an account with my info?" He growled and hit the "Forgot password" link going through the slow and annoying process of changing his password. After he got it changed, he finally logged in and hit create character.

"**Error."**

He growled louder this time and frowned. "Great, what is it this time," He said eyeing the pop up threateningly. "It better not tell me to uninstall and reinstall." He selected the more info tab again and read it.

**There is already a character on this account. Only one character per account is permitted. Please select the character and hit delete if you wish to create a new one.**

He scratched his head. "There's already a character on my account? How?"

He backed out of the message and hit the tab at the bottom of the screen reading character. When he opened it, he was greeted by a nostalgic sight.

There in the center of his field of vision was a knight wearing silver armor, a long deep sapphire blue coat with long sleeves and coattails that ended around his mid calves in three segments, one in front and one on each side of his legs.

On his right arm, the sleeve went all the way to the wrist with snow-white fur. He wore a black leather glove covered by an intricate gauntlet, and in that hand was a sword sporting a long silver blade with a golden crossguard and pommel while the handle was wrapped in blue leather.  
His right shoulder was covered by a smooth silver pauldron that was connected by straps to the rest of the armor.

His left arm was covered in the same silver armor with a gauntlet, vambrace, couter, placard, and another but more ornate pauldron.  
Leather straps wrapped around the blue cloth perfectly and secured the plating to the upper arm.

On the chest was an ornate breastplate with a fancy silvery neck guard covering the strap lock with two leather straps coming out from under it wrapping around and under the arms to connect to the back brace.  
The legs were covered in deep black cotton and armored by ornate angular solleret, greaves, poleyne, and cuisse in the uniform silver of the rest of the armor.

Looking back over the character, he noted the blue coat was hooded with a stiff collar around the neck, and it had white accents. Under it was a white linen and cotton jerkin. On the front coattail was a crest of two upside-down arcs with a sword crossing through them, pointing up. It was made of some silvery material with white fur decorating the bottom of the coattails. On the characters back was a shield, white in color with the same crest emblazoned across it. The armor as a whole was accented with blue markings as well.

(Think along the lines of Male saber from Fate series)

He swallowed, feeling his stomach squirm at the sight of his old character. It brought back some happy memories, but those happy memories were followed by some rather unpleasant ones.  
He moved his hand to hover over the delete button and slowly pressed down on it.

**Do you wish to delete this character?**

He read the message and sighed about to press yes when he stopped. This character was the last thing he had of the good times before he'd fucked everything up.  
This was his last bit of Ruby from before all the cold-shouldering and silent treatment. The last time he'd been with Ruby as friends, it had been with this character.

Call him stupid, but this character was the last thing Ruby, and he worked on together. He remembered how long it took them to make it and all the input she'd given to help design it. He closed his eyes and hit the no button. He couldn't just throw away this character like that. It meant more to him than just some 0's and 1's.

Looking up, he let out a breath and smiled weakly at his avatar. "Hey, buddy. I'm back. Ready to go for another adventure?" Almost as if answering him, his avatar sheathed his blade and stretched his arms over his head before rolling his shoulders and nodding.  
Jaune's smile became more pronounced, and he laughed a bit. "Alright. Let's go." He hit login, and then everything went dark.

~ 0 ~

*Tweet tweet tweet.*

Jaune groaned, sitting up. He rubbed his head with a wince, feeling his chest ache. Looking down, he saw his breastplate was broken with a hole in the middle, dried blood sitting around the damaged metal. He reached up and touched his chest, prodding the hole. It was solid, but he felt a slight sting. "Damn. Why does it hurt so much?" He grumbled as he stood up.

A quiet beeping met his ears, and he brought up the HUD, seeing his message inbox blinking. He looked around, not seeing any monsters or people and so he walked over to a tree and sat against it before hitting the icon.

He was greeted with a plethora of notifications about updates and patch notes, as well as information about his…Investments and net value?

He closed those without opening them, deciding to read them over later. Finally, he was greeted by a message that he couldn't mark for reading later, and he couldn't close it. With a sigh, he clicked it, and the world around him grayed out a light neon blue line forming in the air around him.

"**Temporary neutral zone created. PVP is not allowed within this zone."**

At those words, a plethora of other messages and notifications popped up listed as tutorials. Jaune marked them as read later and closed them to focus on the more important mail."  
After closing the tutorials, he was greeted by a message that read.

**Welcome back, beta tester.**

He eyed the message and scowled at it. "Doesn't feel so good to be back," he griped. He honestly really didn't wanna be playing this, especially since it was what caused everyone to drift apart.  
He grabbed his chest, wincing a bit as he shifted. This was the last thing they did as friends. He didn't wanna throw it away though, and besides he'd promised Sun, he'd play it with him.

With a resigned sigh, he let his hand drop and hit next to continue reading the e-mail. He was shown another message about his investments and glanced over them. Something about his trade group being reputable and having good credit and that he needed to check in with his group as soon as possible. He slid to the next slide, wondering what the game was talking about.

When he hit the next slide, it said he'd been given five free level potions for the inconvenience of his character being reworked due to updates after the official launch. He accepted the gift attached and slid to the next page.  
This one was another notification, but it said something of more immediate relevance.

**We apologize, dear user, and honored Beta tester, but the game has changed drastically since you last played. **  
**There have been many alterations made to the game based on beta tester feedback that we have deemed necessary.**

He sighed and rubbed the back of his head. "Guess it wouldn't stay the same after a few months. Sun did say it keeps growing. Balancing was gonna be a constant issue." He rubbed his temples and kept reading.

**Your character has had all feats, skills, and tittles stripped as none are still in the game. You will retain your level, and all skill points previously allocated have been reset. You will be able to reallocate them at any of the four kingdom's Cathedral by praying to the Ether of Naught.**

He hummed and tried to pull open his character stats page, but it wouldn't open, and the message in front of him pinged. With a sigh, he swiped to the next page again and continued on.  
Suddenly his HUD menu popped up, and a window opened along with the message shifting beside the new window.

**As a beta tester, you were a mercenary for higher during the 40-year war. As of the official release, the lore of the game has continued, and this is no longer an option. You must choose a nationality.**

He looked over at the new window, which was an info page on the factions.

**Vale: **  
**Vale Is a very hands-off monarchy where the crown is stationed to protect the people. National pride and patriotism are found in the hearts of every citizen.**  
**Perks of joining this faction: **  
**Access to a weekly allowance of 150,000 gold courtesy of the royal family. **  
**Time is a 1-1 scale if IRL time. **  
**Stacks and does not have a time limit on being claimed **  
**Access to standard leveled armor every10 levels to make adventuring easier.**

"Huh. Doesn't sound too bad." He went on to the next.

**The Corporate Republic of Atlas:**  
**Atlas Is very materialistic and military-minded. Technological advancement and military might are the country's focus, with a cold and calculating citizenry.**  
**Perks of joining this faction: **  
**Access to Doctor Stein's special crafting station. **  
**Access to special weapon and armor mods, as well as weapons and armor only available to Atlas that cannot be obtained by any guild.**

He made a face at that one, scrolling to the next. "Yeah, no. I don't want to focus on crafting. Besides, if the game's economy is as elaborate as Sun seems to think, I'm sure people will sell stuff made from there anyways. I could always buy it if I ever need it." He shifted, getting comfortable and read the next one.

**The Mistral Federation:**  
**Mistral Is home to many peoples, some criminal and some the most honorable on Remnant. What they all have in common is a distaste for strong government and value their independence.**  
**Perks of joining this faction: **  
**Royal family affiliates:**  
**Access to the Crystal forests without needing a permit. **  
**Access to the ability to recycle materials one time without degrading materials rarity.**  
**Crime family affiliates: **  
**Access to thieves hoard grants a random piece of gear of rare quality every six hours. **  
**Access to the Skeleton key grants the ability to instantly pick locks of rare quality or lower instantly. **  
**(Has infinite uses)**

He sighed. "Yet another crafting oriented faction. I guess the option for a thief oriented character is pretty cool, but I don't know how useful rare gear is or when it becomes obsolete." While scrolling to the last one, his hopes weren't high.

**The free nation of Vacuo: **  
**The smallest and least confrontational country. Sitting in a major trade spot, they are left alone, being seen as a neutral power to hold such an advantageous position. **  
**The people of this country are dedicated yet lazy and love their adventures.**  
**Perks of joining this faction: **  
**Access to worldwide trade routes with no fees. **  
**Access to world travel via commercial airships for no cost. **  
**Access to the unique passive ability Neutral. **  
**(Grants immunity from attacks to guild castles during Kingdom war so long as trade routes are established between the guild and attacking faction.)**

His eyes lit up at the words he read. He couldn't believe it. "Huh. I guess Sun was right about there being an in-depth economy if there's such a specialized faction." He reread the information on Vacuo and grinned. It would be a boon not to have to pay for shipping or travel, especially if there was a tax on goods which he was starting to suspect. Especially if the economy was player run. There would always be greedy people trying to make gold any way possible.  
With that, he clicked on the Pendant symbol next to Vacuo.

**Congratulations. You are a citizen of Vacuo. You can change or add affiliation at any time so long as you pay the nation's fee, or renounce loyalties to your homeland.**  
**Note: you can only gain the perks of your birthplace and will lose them upon renouncing loyalties.**

He shrugged at the message and smiled as he stood up. He didn't think he'd be renouncing his loyalties to Vacuo any time soon. After the message finish playing and the music stopped, another window popped up, and he almost tripped as it obscured his view. "God damn it!"

**As one of the beta testers who provided excellent feedback, you have been rewarded with a special gift for your input into the game.**

A few screen-shots of messages he'd sent the company about the economy and items showed up in front of him.

**Due to you, the economic system is much more robust, and we have implemented a new item rarity type. Thank you, and please enjoy your gift.**

He closed the window and looked at the gift icon on his HUD.  
"Well, might as well see what it is." He tapped the icon, and a present showed up floating in the air in front of him with a box underneath detailing a chance to drop one of five items.

**A unique weapon for your current class that grows stronger the longer you use it without needing to be upgraded. **  
**33% chance**

**A unique set of armor that grows stronger the longer you use it without needing to be upgraded. **  
**33% chance**

**A level 300 mount that can't die but can be incapacitated for up to 24 hrs of IRL time. **  
**23% chance **  
**(with a 1% chance of being any of the top 100 mounts)**

**A starting amount of 10,000,000 gold. **  
**10% chance**

He read online before playing that on average, people get around 10,000 after a few hours of hard grinding and selling just about all the loot you find. The money would be a big help. He looked at the last one.

**Special affiliation with the 5th kingdom. **  
**1% chance**

"What kinda reward is that?" He wondered out loud as he looked at the final reward. What was even the point of it? He Sighed with a shrug and hit the gift. It started shaking, and then it exploded into a cloud of confetti, leaving a shining sphere in front of him. He covered his eyes, wincing at the brightness as the voice of the game's narrator rang out.

**"Congratulations, you have obtained."**  
**"Silver pendant. It is of intricate design made in the shape of a wolf. Fenrir, king of mythical beasts."**

He blinked, his eyes watering slightly as he took the floating pendant and frowned. What the hell was this? It wasn't even on the list of items he could have gotten. He had to admit it looked fucking cool, but what the fuck! He turned it over and saw a message etched in it sloppily. Never forget. "Never forget what? What the hell is this item?"  
He examined it using the in-game examination tool. And read the flavor text.

**This pendant symbolizes affiliation with the 5th kingdom. There are a handful of these pendants, but this one is unique. Never forget.**

There were a few lines of text under that as well, but it wasn't part of the flavor text.

**Only other players in possession of this item know what it means. You are not allowed to speak of it, let anyone else who isn't affiliated with the 5th kingdom know you have it or mention it on any message boards. **  
**Any and all mention of it will be deleted, and a silence ban will be placed on your account for one day for each offense.**  
**The pendant cannot be sold, traded, dropped, or taken off your character upon death. It is locked to this character.**

A notification popped up.

**Account locked. Character cannot be deleted. Thank you for playing "The world of Remnant."**

He scowled at the thing. "What the fuck kinda reward is this!"  
Another notification popped up right in front of his face as he was about to throw the stupid thing.

**Secret quest unlocked. "What little remains."**  
**Objective: Find the girl who cries.**  
**Failure conditions: Make her cry before you find her.**  
**Rewards:?**

**Member: Steward - Access to unique guild home. **  
**(Castle of Naught)**

**Member: Knight - Access to unique weapon upgrades. **  
**(Drain & soul steal)**

**Member: Treasurer - Access to unique goods. **  
**(Black dust & Crystal steel)**

**Member: Assassin - Access to unique weapon type. **  
**(Gunblade)**

**Member: Librarian - Access to unique spells. **  
**(Death & Holy)**

**Member: Rouge - Access to unique passive. **  
**(Learned)**

**Member: Teacher - Access to unique class combinations. **  
**(Job extensions)**

**Member: Unblessed - Access to Ether of Naught. **  
**(Questline - Requiem of a Cruel Angel's Thesis)**

Jaune finished reading and let out a long sigh. "Well, Jaune, you could have had money, a weapon, armor, or even a badass mount but no. The one time you get lucky and hit the one percent in a lotto, you get fucked."  
He just had to get the item that forced him to work harder for some hidden reward. Looking at it again, it seemed like there was even a select group of people with similar items. "Well, I guess it was free, can't really complain, can I?"  
He let it go figuring it was a gift anyways and then put the item in his inventory.  
With a weak smile, he closed all of the tabs, and the neon blue line in the air around him disappeared.

"**Neutral zone deactivated, PVP enabled."**

He looked up at the sky, admiring the god rays and the beautiful graphics for the second time in his life. A few birds flew overhead, and he watched them fly along above a path not too far away. "Well, I can't remember where the city is for the life of me, and it's just my luck this game has no mini-map. More immersive, I guess. Let's hope this is the way to town." He started humming a tune as he made his way down the path.

~ 0 ~

After walking for a good hour and killing a few monsters that hadn't given him any trouble, he decided to take a break and sat down on a tree stump with a wince. "God. Why does my chest still hurt so much? It feels like I've got a bad bruise that's constantly being pressed on."  
He opened his status page and hit character.

**Character name: Crocea Morse**

**Level: 75**

**EXP: 16,008,240**

**Next level: 33,585**

**Nationality: Vacuo**

**Affiliation: Arc Trading, Vacuo, Fifth kingdom**

**Title: -**

**Class: Knight (Tank)**  
**Secondary Class: Adept rouge (Master of Arts)**

**Skills: -**

**~ 0 ~**

**Abilities: -**

**~ 0 ~**

**Spells: -**

**~ 0 ~**

**Stats:**

**HP: 7500/7500**

**SP: 12862/12862 **  
**RR 120% of DEX every 10 second **  
**(19.2 per sec)**

**AP: 8455/8455 **  
**RR 80% of AGIL every 10 seconds **  
**(12.8 per sec)**

**MP: 365/365 **  
**RR 1% of INT every 10 second **  
**(5.5 per sec)**

**Phys ATK: 899**

**Phys DEF: 596/1083 **  
**[Physical defense lowered due to 0 CD]**

**Mag ATK: 675**

**Mag DEF: 876**

**Character Durability: 0/15000 **  
**RR 150% of Resilience Every 10 second **  
**(30 per sec) **  
**[Currently suffering from a critical wound, cannot recover until healed]**

**Traits:**

**Dexterity: 160**

**Agility: 160**

**Evasion: 160**

**Intelligence: 80**

**Wisdom: 55**

**Charisma: 20**

**Resilience: 200**

**Available trait points: 375**

**Ailments:**

**Critical wound:**  
**Waited 24 hours after death for character recovery instead of respawning.**  
**Causes constant pain and lowers physical defense by 45%, stops Character durability from recovering.**  
**[Retain EXP upon getting up] **  
**(Must be healed by a Priest/Priestess in a cathedral or with Elixir)**

**Broken: **  
**Character durability is at 0.**  
**Causes all attacks received by character to be critical.**  
**(Cannot be healed with Esuna, Requires Elixir or Performance Booster)**

**Debilitation:**

**Armor Break:**  
**Equipment durability at 0.**  
**Causes direct damage to health.**  
**(Must repair armor. Broken armor cannot be unequipped unless in town)**

He looked over his stats and winced. "What the hell kinda character did I make!?" He groaned. "I can't believe I picked a knight class and crossed it with a rouge class. That's like two opposite classes. They don't compliment each other at all."

He put his elbows on his knees, propping his head on his hands and blew his bangs out of his eyes. He looked back at his stats, feeling a little depressed. "Now I remember Ruby laughing at me for picking the classes I did, which is why she helped me so much with building my character afterward. She told me I would be better of making a new one when the beta ended."

His head fell, and he let out a frustrated sob while scowling at the ground. "And now, my characters locked as well as my account." He shot up, grabbing his head, ruffling his hair with a yell. "Arghhhh! What the hell!"  
He let his arms drop, his head tilting to the side with an annoyed smile on his face. "This is some bullshit."  
Looking back at his stats, he couldn't believe how all over the place the numbers were. He couldn't even tell what kind of character he was building despite his main class stating tank.

Now, his defensive stats were his highest ones but not by much. It honestly looked like he tried to make an all-rounder in an RPG. He played single-player games all the time, and he knew that was never a good idea. What the hell had he been thinking?  
He looked back at the table and hummed.

**Stats:**

**SP: 12862/12862 **  
**RR 120% of DEX every 10 second **  
**(19.2 per sec)**

**AP: 8455/8455 **  
**RR 80% of AGIL per second **  
**(12.8 per sec)**

**Phys DEF: 596/1083 **  
**[Physical defense lowered due to 0 CD]**

**Character Durability: 0/15000 **  
**RR 150% of Resilience Every 10 second **  
**(30 per sec) **  
**[Currently suffering from a critical wound, cannot recover until healed]**

**Traits:**

**Dexterity: 160**

**Agility: 160**

**Evasion: 160**

**Resilience: 200**

**Available trait points: 375**

Those were the stats that stood out. He tried wracking his brain to remember why he'd picked adept rouge as his secondary. It just didn't make sense. It had to have been something in the class description that he hadn't been able to see this time around since he didn't make a new character. It was then he noticed his debuffs.

**Ailments:**

**Critical wound:**  
**Waited 24 or more hours after death for character recovery instead of respawning.**  
**Causes constant pain and lowers physical defense by 45%, stops Character durability from recovering.**  
**[Retain EXP upon getting up] **  
**(Must be healed by a Priest/Priestes in cathedral or with Elixir)**

**Broken: **  
**Character durability is at 0.**  
**Causes all attacks upon character to be critical.**  
**(Cannot be healed with Esuna, Requires Elixir or Performance Booster)**

**Debilitation:**

**Armor Break:**  
**Equipment durability at 0.**  
**Causes direct damage to health.**  
**(Must repair armor. Broken armor cannot be unequipped unless in town)**

"Holy cow, those are bad. How did…" He trailed off, remembering a pair of burning golden eyes. He reached up to his chest and rubbed the hole in his breastplate. "Oh. Yeah."  
He took a deep breath, hit the armor tab on his menu, frowning at what he saw.

**Crocea Mors:**

**Accessories:**

**Earrings: - (Equip)**

**Rings (x4): - (Equip)**

**Armor: **  
**0/7302**  
**Armor Set Effects: **  
**Null. Repair or upgrade equipment.**

**Headgear: - (N/A) unlocks at level 80**

**Chest plate: Pendragon Cuirass**  
**0/2200**  
**Effects: **  
**broken **  
**(Upgrade)**

**Arms: Pendragon set**  
**0/1001**  
**Effects: **  
**Broken**  
**(Upgrade)**

**Waist: Pendragon Tassets**  
**0/1001**  
**Effects:**  
**Broken**  
**(Upgrade)**

**Legs: Pendragon set**  
**0/1800 **  
**Effects:**  
**Broken**  
**(Upgrade)**

**Clothes: Pendragon Royal coat**  
**0/1300 **  
**Effects:**  
**Broken**  
**(Upgrade)**

**Weapons:**  
**0/16000**  
**Weapon set effects:**  
**Null. Repair or upgrade equipment**

**Right hand: silver sword**  
**0/8000**  
**ATK: 682/1364**  
**Effects:**  
**Broken -50% damage**  
**(Upgrade)**

**Left hand: Silver shield**  
**0/8000**  
**ATK: 432/864**  
**Effects:**  
**Broken -50% damage negation**  
**(Upgrade)**

"Well, fuck." His armor was shot as were his weapons, but he was confident that the debilities could be healed by a potion, which he was pretty sure he still had a few of unless the game wiped his inventory. He hadn't had any trouble killing anything so far either. He could hold out till he got back to town and got that sorted out.  
Scratching his head, he sat back down and looked at the "New" message next to the necklace. "Might as well see what it is and equip it."

He swiped the stat screen to the side and then again to finally showing his inventory. He blinked a couple of times, his mouth twitching as he scrolled through.  
Rocks. Lots of em. Well, they were crystals, but still. Almost his entire inventory was full of the things.

As he reached the bottom of his inventory, he found the two things he was looking for. The pendant he'd just gotten and a stack of glass bottles filled with a glowing golden liquid, Elixir.

The things had been expensive, and Ruby had even berated him for spending his money on them when he'd told her. She'd said potions were way more efficient and cost-friendly.  
He'd shrugged her off about it countering by saying they recovered all of his HP, AP, SP, MP, and healed critical wounds. She'd rolled her eyes and asked how often he'd need all of them refilled. If he played well, he would only need a few potions, if any.

He frowned at the memory. The more he thought about it. Ruby had always pointed out his shortcomings in the game. With a grimace, he pulled one of the elixirs out of his inventory and popped the cork. While drinking the slightly nectar flavored curative, he looked back at his inventory and tapped the pendant.  
It had more text on it now that it was in his inventory, and it read equipment next to the now present name.

**Pendant of the Unblessed.**

**This pendant symbolizes affiliation with the 5th kingdom. There are a handful of these pendants, but this one is unique. Never forget.**  
**The Pendant of The Unblessed is a special item with a restriction. Only this character can equip it. The Pendant is one of several, all of which offer stat bonuses to their wearer based on their class and which pendant they have.**

**Pendant of the Unblessed**  
**Level 1**  
**EXP 0/?**

**Effects:**

**Survival mode**  
**(Character must eat and sleep regularly, or debuffs will incur)**  
**(Character habits change based on player habits) **  
**(Debuffs and buffs will change based on habits) **  
**Makes player's and players screen names and levels invisible.**  
**Turns off damage counter for player.**  
**Turns off HP bars for all targets.**  
**Turns off party invite system for player. **  
**(Can only be invited to parties)**  
**Turns off Mentor system. **  
**(Cannot be a mentor or be mentored)**  
**Turns off respawn. **  
**(Must wait 6 hours to get up or be revived by an ally)**  
**Turns off instant messaging outside of towns and cities.**  
**Turns off private chat.**  
**Turns off stats and gear menus in the field.**  
**Increases effectiveness of true damage by 50%.**  
**Increases effectiveness of Skills by 50%**  
**Increases effectiveness of Abilities by 50%.**  
**Increases effectiveness of Magic by 50%**  
**Increases effectiveness of Scaling by 50%**  
**Increases effectiveness of Armor by 100%**  
**Increases damage dealt and damage taken by 100%**  
**Increases effectiveness of status effects on character by 100%**  
**(Mental buffs and debuffs are only affected by sleep)**  
**Decreases effectiveness of healing spells.**  
**Decreases effectiveness of healing items except for elixir.**  
**Decreases EXP earned by 50%**  
**Decreases equipment degradation rate by 50%**

Jaune's eyes bugged out at that. "What the hell! Is this some kind of realism item? It's got some nice boosts and stuff but holy hell the drawbacks that come with it. I mean Increases damage dealt _and _damage taken by 100%." He scratched his head. "I guess they can't just make it overpowered, can they.  
He scrutinized the effects, and he realized something. "It's like the same as an NPC. Almost like I would be a character in the game instead of a player. Like a boss or something." He held his chin, thinking about the implications. "It's at level one too, which implies it gets stronger, no doubt, but why can't I see how much EXP it needs? Not only that, but you have to deposit exp in the Ether of Naught to level up, so where do I go to level up an item?" With those questions on his mind, he continued reading.

**Perks:**

**Member: Unblessed **  
**Access to Ether of Naught. **  
**(Requiem of a Cruel Angel's Thesis)**

**Title: Unblessed **  
**When not in a party, or if debuffs are active, gain 100% recovery rate to SP, AP, MP.**

**Armor set effects:**  
**When any armor set is equipped, all armor ratings and effects are doubled.**

**Trait: False Hero **  
**Grants access to no cost combos and increase the effectiveness of traits without increasing the trait level.**  
**(More combos, skills, abilities, and spells unlocked at higher levels)**

**Combo: Symphony of blades**

**Combo starter: Dancing Rhapsody**  
**An AOE attack where user attacks everything within striking range with three quick blows. Can chain into a combo booster or a skill. **  
**(Cannot be chained into)**  
**[No cost]**

**Combo booster: Diminuendo Dive **  
**A thrust and rising attack followed by a heavy downward stab that armor breaks an opponent temporarily. **  
**Can chain into a combo finisher or a skill. **  
**(Cannot be used in the same combo more than once)**  
**[No cost]**

**Combo finisher: Crescendo Spike **  
**Two downward slashes followed by a rising slash and an upward stab that knocks back opponents and breaks combos. **  
**Can chain into finishing skills.**  
**[No cost]**

"Holy shit." He pulled up another window with his stats and let out a low whistle. It would more than double all of his recovery except MP while he was alone. And those attacks er combos. Just damn.  
Looking back at the item, he continued reading as the pain in his chest faded as the potion took effect.

**Skill: Cutting Gavotte **  
**Two slashes followed by a downward slash that produces a wave of energy dealing magic damage that is equal to characters physical attack. **  
**Can chain into combo finishers and finishing skills. **  
**(If SP is below 10% launches foes back, breaking your combo) **  
**[Minimum requirement 150 DEX & AGIL, costs 1500 SP]**

**Finishing Skill: Eternal Refrain **  
**A devastating non-elemental magic and physical attack that does direct damage to target. **  
**(If SP is above 90% deals double damage)**  
**[Minimum requirement 150 DEX, 150 AGIL and combined score of 1500 Phys ATK and MAG ATK, costs 3000 SP]**

**This item cannot be unequipped once equipped, and other skills cannot be purchased or used.**  
**Adds class False Hero.**  
**Character will still level according to classes equipped at the time of equipping this item. Cannot change classes once equipped.**  
**Levels will not give boosts more than once.**

He finished reading the info on the pendant and blinked in shock. He had no idea what to make of the item. At first glance, it seemed overpowered as hell, but if you looked closely, it had serious potential to screw you. Like, say if he'd picked an archer class and a rouge class, he wouldn't even be able to use the sword or magic abilities, thus fucking his character to hell. He wasn't even close to still having 90% of his SP by the time he got to Eternal Refrain as is but holy shit, the potential it had as well.

Now the item did stop you from obtaining other skills and equipping them. Then again, it said you unlocked more as the pendant got stronger. Then there was that last bit about levels not giving boosts more than once whatever that meant. "Now the question is if those skills will be any good or even worth it, and if so, then the million-dollar question. Should I equip it?"

Thinking about it, his character seemed shot as is, but at least it could use the skills. Besides, he wasn't even planning on being a combat-based character. He was hopefully going to be going into the game's economy, so what the hell.  
With a shrug, he equipped the pendant and got several notifications about the stuff he'd just read as well as a couple of debuff notifications like exhausted, hungry and thirsty.  
He coughed and grabbed his stomach as he actually felt said debuffs take effect. Maybe his decision had been made in haste after all.

Closing the windows, he looked back at his inventory with a frown hoping he had some food or water but no luck. Instead, he pulled out one of the crystals from a stack of 22 he had near the bottom. Now he'd give it points just for being mesmerizing to look at what with its soothing blue glow and the prismatic effect inside of it. The thing was really pretty, in his opinion. After turning it over in his hands a few times, he used the examine option on the HUD and read the description along with the flavor text.

**Solid Dust Crystal. Enhancement, alchemy, crafting, and leveling item. The highest value of all other in-game items.**

**Rarity: Exclusive**

**Type: Ore**

**Ore type: Crystal**

**Use: Crafting**

**Value:?**

**The rarest and most powerful of dust crystals used to reinforce weapons, armor and create other items. It can be used as a catalyst for spells. **  
**It is highly valued and sought after by all. Careful, there are those who'll hunt people who claim to have even seen one.**

His jaw dropped at what he read. There was just no way. He remembered picking them up while playing with Ruby, but she'd told him they had no purpose.  
She'd asked why he was even collecting them at the time, and he'd responded with a lame because they looked cool.

Back then, their flavor text had been something along the lines of 'unremarkable ore with a strange glow. Maybe it'll fetch a good price.'  
He hadn't wanted to tell Ruby that he'd actually spent all his money on the elixirs, so he started picking them up with hopes of selling them later.  
He was strapped for cash after buying the elixirs and needed money bad.

At the time, he was sure they were an item purely for making extra money by selling them to NPCs in town. It was hard to believe, but now, due to his OCD nature and need for cash, he had almost a full inventory of what was called a 'Solid Dust Crystal,' and it was apparently the most valued item in-game.

The rarity said exclusive, which usually meant only certain people could get them or you had to do something really specific or difficult to get one.  
He pulled up the games help tab and looked for item classifications. He passed weapons, armor, mounts, tools, and furniture before he hit materials.

**Crafting Materials: Items used to reinforces all items in the game or imbue them with perks.**  
**Select more info for an in-depth entry.**

He hit the more info tab.

**Crafting materials continued**

**Crafting Materials: **  
**Items used to craft the more advanced gear that offer stat and trait boosts. This includes weapons, armor, accessories, and also furniture to place in your player home. **  
**Different materials offer different boosts that are either passive use or active use.**  
**Passive:**  
**The effects on armor, weapons, and accessories. **  
**Active:**  
**Furniture that is made with special materials will offer varying boosts when used.**

**There are several types of Crafting Materials. These are:**

**Ore: The least common.**  
**Hardest to obtain, especially high-level ores of finer rarity, seeing as they are only available in mines and dungeons. **  
**Both are guarded by guilds or monsters, respectively.**  
**Includes rock, gems, and crystals of which are many varying subsections. Purchase a manual at your local Auction house or seek help from a guild member.**

**Nature: The most abundant.**  
**These materials are found simply by looking around in the fields which are only guarded by weak monsters.**  
**Includes lumber and animal products, of which there are many subsections. Purchase a manual at your local Auction house or seek help from a guild member.**

**Special: The second most common. **  
**Materials are found by foraging the wilds and fields for special ingredients. These are used for alchemy and spell weaving. **  
**Purchase a manual at your local Auction house or seek help from a guild member.**

**Rarities:**

**Worthless: In such abundance, even NPC shops will not purchase these items. Used for starter gear and items.**

**Common: Regularly found but refined. **  
**Used to make money by selling.**

~ 0 ~

**Rare: Not your everyday item. **  
**Used to upgrade gear.**

~ 0 ~

**Unusual: not something you'd look twice at but just might miss. **  
**Has special properties when applied properly.**  
**Use to create items.**

~ 0 ~

**Special: Hard to find and very useful. **  
**Imbues special properties on items when used in crafting.**

**Lost: Only obtainable through high-level quests. **  
**Items that grant abilities, skills, or spells to equipment when used in crafting.**  
**Said skills do not require Trait minimums to use.**

**Uncanny: Only world bosses drop these. **  
**Items that give off a strange aura and grant massive stat boosts when used in crafting.**

**Legendary: Gifted after Kingdom wars to guilds who manage to defend their castles until the end of the event. **  
**Items that grant massive trait boosts when used in crafting.**

**Exclusive: An item with a finite amount that does not respawn. **  
**These items have been around since beta, and once they are gone, they are gone forever. **  
**Give massive Stat and Trait boosts when used in crafting.**  
**Items made with these materials cannot break and cannot be recycled. They are classified as personal items and cannot be taken off a downed player after PVP.**

He looked down at the stone in his hand in shock. He remembered them being all over the place back during the beta. They were pretty much useless. After reading the rarities, he was sure it was a common item at the time. "Wait," He said, looking at the name again. "Solid Dust Crystal." Then it hit him. The Beta took place during the war, which is why they were mercenaries.  
Now, in-game at least, decades had gone by, and they were something the lore said was coveted and used to fight the Grimm, the new threat in the game. Holy cow, he was sitting on a…

"Hey, would ya look at that."

**~ 0 ~**

**Authors notes.**

**~ 0 ~**

**Quick note on this chapter. There was a lot of info-dumping and such in this chapter with little story progression, but I plan on trying to get as much info-dumping done early on and focusing on story and action the rest of the way.**

**The next chapter will be pretty much all story and action, so I hope you guys enjoy it.**

**~ 0 ~**

**About the Solid Dust Crystals. The game has a big focus on equipment and economy. Jaune's crystals aren't some get rich quick thing. People and guilds will be coming after him for them as hinted at right here at the end.**

**If he tried to sell them all, they would drop in value very quickly, meaning diminishing returns. If he was going to make money off of them, it would be slowly one at a time.**

**This isn't likely though because one crystal is one equipment upgrade or furniture building that you know of. It could be more. The world and Jaune only have a finite amount.**

**He isn't going to waste them spend them or use them like it's nothing. Maybe while he has a lot, he'll give a few away, but once he gets situated, he'll learn how to use them and become much more frugal.**

**Like toilet paper in the apocalypse.**

**~ 0 ~**

**For the people pming me about Penny, She is special but I don't wanna give anything away.**

**~ 0 ~**

**As for the review and pm's on Ruby ending her friendship with Jaune I can say the game is not the main reason. It definitely meant a lot to her because in this story MMORPG's are Ruby's passion. Jaune's words did set her off but there is more to her actions than that. I have put hints in the story so it is possible to get an idea.**

**Also Ruby's love for MMORPG's stems from still wanting to be a hero and so she gets gud at playing them and becomes a world recognizable/ reputable player which is how she got her beta keys for the game. The world of Remnant is taking the world by storm and is the focus of E-sports and huge real money rewards as Sun said in ch 1.**

**That being said, how do you think someone would feel if they spent months of playing the beta with their best friend then said best friend just shits all over their hobby right after they loose access to it and then are told to grow up.**

**No it wasn't intentional on Jaune's part and he didn't mean it the way she took it but them both being socially awkward and not sharing the same passion she took it the wrong way and feels bad about her life's passion. It should be obvious to tell she had or has a thing for him which just compounds the problem.**

**~ 0 ~**

**Also at the end of this chapter and the next I'm gonna put Jaune's character stats and equipment list let me know if I should keep doing it or not. Thanks.**

**For anyone who thinks the pendant will make him OP I have this to say. The way it levels up and the fact he has so much regeneration with it and damage modifiers will be clear in ch 4. AKA he won't be OP**

**~ 0 ~**

**Character name: Crocea Morse**

**Level: 75**

**EXP: 16,008,240**

**Next level: 33,585**

**Nationality: Vacuo**

**Affiliation: Arc Trading, Vacuo, Fifth kingdom**

**Title: Unblessed **  
**When not in a party, or if debuffs are active, gain 100% recovery rate to SP, AP, MP.**

**Trait: False Hero **  
**Grants access to no cost combos and increases effectiveness of traits without increasing trait level.**  
**(More combos, skills, abilities and spells unlocked at higher levels)**

**Class: **  
**False Hero (?)**  
**Knight (Tank)**  
**Secondary Class: Adept rouge (Master of arts)**

**Skills:**  
**Skill: Cutting Gavotte **  
**Two slashes followed by a downward slash that produces a wave of energy dealing magic damage that is equal to characters physical attack. **  
**Can chain into combo finishers and finishing skills. **  
**(If SP is below 10% launches foes back breaking your combo) **  
**[Minimum requirement 150 DEX & AGIL, costs 1500 SP]**

**Finishing Skill: Eternal Refrain **  
**A devastating non elemental magic and physical attack that does direct damage to target. **  
**(If SP is above 90% deals double damage)**  
**[Minimum requirement 150 DEX, 150 AGIL and combined score of 1500 Phys ATK and MAG ATK, costs 3000 SP]**

**~ 0 ~**

**Abilities: -**

**Spells: -**

**Combos:**  
**Combo: Symphony of blades**

**Combo starter: Dancing Rhapsody**  
**An AOE attack where user attacks everything within striking range with three quick blows. Can chain into a combo booster or a skill. **  
**(Cannot be chained into)**  
**[No cost]**

**Combo booster: Diminuendo Dive **  
**A thrust and rising attack followed by a heavy downward stab that armor breaks an opponent temporarily. **  
**Can chain into a combo finisher or a skill. **  
**(Cannot be used in the same combo more than once)**  
**[No cost]**

**Combo finisher: Crescendo Spike **  
**Two downward slashes followed by a rising slash and an upward stab that knocks back opponents and breaks combos. **  
**Can chain into finishing skills.**  
**[No cost]**

**~ 0 ~**

**Stats:**

**HP: 7500/7500**

**SP: 12862/12862 **  
**RR 120% of DEX every 10 second **  
**(19.2 per sec)**

**AP: 8455/8455 **  
**RR 80% of AGIL every 10 seconds **  
**(12.8 per sec)**

**MP: 365/365 **  
**RR 1% of INT every 10 second **  
**(5.5 per sec)**

**Phys ATK: 899**

**Phys DEF: 1083/1083**

**Mag ATK: 675**

**Mag DEF: 876**

**Character Durability: 15000/15000 **  
**RR 150% of Resilience Every 10 second **  
**(30 per sec)**

**Traits:**

**Dexterity: 160**

**Agility: 160**

**Evasion: 160**

**Intelligence: 80**

**Wisdom: 55**

**Charisma: 20**

**Resilience: 200**

**Available trait points: 375**

**~ 0 ~**

**Ailments:**

**Debilitation:**

**Exhaustion: **  
**No sleep for more than 24 hrs**  
**Causes player to feel tired and out of breath after a combos**  
**(Must sleep in a bed for minimum of 8 hours to cure)**

**Thirsts:**  
**No water drunk for over 24 hrs**  
**Causes player to feel thirsty and light headed after combos**  
**(Must drink a bottle of refreshing water or holy water)**

**Hunger:**  
**No food eaten for over 24 hrs**  
**Causes player to feel hungry and sleepy after combos**  
**(Must eat a good meal or gourmet meal)**

**Armor Break:**  
**Equipment durability at 0.**  
**Causes direct damage to health.**  
**(Must repair armor. Broken armor cannot be unequipped unless in town)**

**~ 0 ~**

**Accessories:**

**Earrings: - (Equip)**

**Necklace: Pendant of the Unblessed**  
**Level 1**  
**EXP 0/?**

**Effects:**  
**Survival mode**  
**(Character must eat and sleep regularly or debuffs will incur)**  
**(Character habits change based on player habits) **  
**(Debuffs and buffs will change based on habits) **  
**Makes player's and players screen names and levels invisible.**  
**Turns off damage counter for player.**  
**Turns off HP bars for all targets.**  
**Turns off party invite system for player. **  
**(Can only be invited to parties)**  
**Turns off Mentor system. **  
**(Cannot be a mentor or be mentored)**  
**Turns off respawn. **  
**(Must wait 6 hours to get up or be revived by an ally)**  
**Turns off instant messaging outside of towns and cities.**  
**Turns off private chat.**  
**Turns off stats and gear menus in the field.**  
**Increases effectiveness of true damage by 50%.**  
**Increases effectiveness of Skills by 50%**  
**Increases effectiveness of Abilities by 50%.**  
**Increases effectiveness of Magic by 50%**  
**Increases effectiveness of Scaling by 50%**  
**Increases effectiveness of Armor by 100%**  
**Increases damage dealt and damage taken by 100%**  
**Increases effectiveness of status effects on character by 100%**  
**(Mental buffs and debuffs are only affected by sleep)**  
**Decreases effectiveness of healing spells.**  
**Decreases effectiveness of healing items except elixir.**  
**Decreases EXP earned by 50%**  
**Decreases armor degradation rate by 50%**

**Rings (x4): - (Equip)**

**Armor: **  
**0/7302**  
**Armor Set Effects:**  
**Null.**  
**Equip unbroken set of Armor**

**Headgear: - (N/A) unlocks at level 80**

**Chest plate: Pendragon Cuirass**  
**0/2200**  
**Effects: **  
**broken **  
**(Upgrade)**

**Arms: Pendragon set**  
**0/1001**  
**Effects: **  
**Broken**  
**(Upgrade)**

**Waist: Pendragon Tassets**  
**0/1001**  
**Effects:**  
**Broken**  
**(Upgrade)**

**Legs: Pendragon set**  
**0/1800 **  
**Effects:**  
**Broken**  
**(Upgrade)**

**Clothes: Pendragon Royal coat**  
**0/1300 **  
**Effects**  
**Broken**  
**(Upgrade)**

**Weapons:**  
**0/16000**  
**Weapon set effects:**  
**Null. **  
**Repair or upgrade equipment**

**Weapons:**  
**0/16000**  
**Weapon set effects:**  
**Null. **  
**Equip unbroken weapons**

**Right hand: silver sword**  
**0/8000**  
**ATK: 682/1364**  
**Effects:**  
**Broken -50% damage**  
**(Upgrade)**

**Left hand: Silver shield**  
**0/8000**  
**ATK: 432/864**  
**Effects:**  
**Broken -50% damage negation**  
**(Upgrade)**

**~ 0 ~**

**Well that's another chapter done. Thanks for reading.**


	3. Chapter 3

Project Remnant

~ 0 ~

I do not own RWBY

~ 0 ~

"_Thoughts"_

"Speech"

'words with implied meaning.'

Regular text

**Menu info**

**"Disembodied voice."**

**"**_**Disembodied thoughts /Memories."**_

~ Ch 3 ~

~ Why does it hurt so much ~

Jaune's thoughts died, and he closed the menu looking up to see a group of three guys looking at him or, more specifically, the item in his hand. "Hey, buddy," The tall one wearing full plate armor with a greatsword on his back said as he walked up. "Whatchya got there, huh?"

Jaune just sat there looking at the guy. What Sun had told him yesterday about high-level people camping lower level areas to farm players rushed into his mind. He started to sweet, and he stood up, feeling nervous.  
"Uh. Hello." He said with a small wave trying to be as friendly as possible.

The three guys looked at each other curiously and then turned back to him, eyeing him warily. "Hey," They all said in unison.  
One of them. The one wearing what looked like rouges clothes what with him being wrapped in black leather and belts with a high collar covering his mouth. He had a dagger in hand that he gesture at Jaune while scowling him. "Hey man, that gear looks way different than anything in town. Where'd you get it? It's pretty cool."

The shorter stout guy in their group wearing thick padded chaps accompanied by scale armor with a lance and a large round shield on his back nodded in agreement.  
The guy in full plate looked him up and down as if realizing it for the first time and grinned. "Yeah, it is pretty cool. So." He looked Jaune in the eyes. "Where'd you get it?"

He answered as calmly as he could sounding rather emotionless if he was honest. "Atlas. I got it from Atlas." He remembered that clearly. It had been where Ruby had dragged him off to on their fifth week playing. It had taken almost two days for the rickety old boat to get them there, but once they logged back in and got outfitted using all the materials they'd had to make new armor, she'd said it was totally worth losing two days of grinding.  
He looked at the guys remembering his armor stats. "Kinda got into a fight, and now it's broken though," He said, tapping at the hole in the breastplate for emphasis.

The turtle nodded at him in understanding. "Yeah, man, I've been through the same shit."

The rouge kicked the dirt growling. "Fuckin Atlas! Always get the best shit. I knew I should have joined their faction!"

The other two grumble in agreement, and then the one who seemed to be the leader stepped up, pulling out his greatsword. "Well, there is one way we can get some better shit." He pointed the massive chunk of steel at Jaune and smirked. "Hey man, we wanna see the crystal you were looking at just now."

~ 0 ~

Jaune stood motionless, staring at the tip of the sword in front of his nose. It was strange. His heart was pounding ridiculously fast, but he honestly felt calm. A strange contradiction, but hey, it was a game. Maybe knowing that had some kind of weird effect on his brain.

He looked down at the crystal in his hand, a strange feeling of possessiveness washing over him. Sun had told him to start standing up for himself and stop taking shit from other people. Call him crazy, but maybe this game was telling him to turn over a new leaf. While looking at the crystal in his hand, he felt a smile creep to his face.  
He didn't want to give up any of them. Yeah, he had a fuckton, but they, along with everything his character had were the last bits of proof he had that Ruby used to be his friend before he fucked everything up. He wasn't about to be extorted or mugged for them.

Letting out a sigh, he put the crystal in the satchel hanging from the many belts around his waist, and it returned to his inventory.  
He looked up at the three guys with a calm expression and smiled. "No, thank you."  
IRL he'd have given it up, feeling his life was worth more, but this was a game focused around PVP. They couldn't see his inventory, and he was sure they'd just attack him anyways.

The worst thing that could happen was he dies, and due to the pendant, he'd have to wait 6 hours to get up, but they'd no doubt loot his body while he was waiting, and he'd lose everything. If they thought he'd give them anything, they were dead wrong. He looked into the eyes of the guy across from him, his smile turning into a glare. "Move. I have somewhere I need to be."

The three guys looked at each other shocked, and then the leader smirked. "Ooh ho ho ho ho. Tough guy, huh." The other two snickered from behind him. The big guy brandished his sword then swung it into the ground with a resounding crash, sending dirt everywhere.

Jaune just stood there watching with a stern expression as the dust and force of the air from the action blew his coat around. This guy was reminding him of Cardin if only a bit. They were both bullies, and that was reason enough for him to dislike this guy.  
He tightened his fists and turned to leave, heading down the road only to stop a couple of steps later as a few throwing knives landed in the ground just in front of where his sabaton was. He looked down at them then up.  
The thin guy and short guy had taken up spots on his flank while the big guy was walking around to his front. "I don't think you understand how this works." He hefted his sword over his shoulder and grinned maliciously at Jaune. "I tell you something, and you do it. Now hand over that Item. I'd rather not have to get my equipment dirty."

Jaune watched the guy while slowly pulling out his sword. He wasn't anything special in the real world, and his sports grades in school were always average or just above at best, but he knew how to fight, and this wasn't his first rodeo in 'The world of Remnant,' but it would be his first time fighting alone.

He tightened his grip on the hilt as he let it rest at his side, a frown spreading across his face. He had no armor, and his old skills were all gone, not that he could even remember what they were. All he had were his stats and the bonuses the pendant gave. With all his armor broken, he did have that debuff active, which in turn activated the special buff from the pendant.

It wasn't much. Hell, Jaune didn't even know how much these guys had themselves, but he wasn't handing anything over. He lifted his sword, pointing it at the guy in front of him. "You'll have to take it from me." He said in a cold tone.  
He was trying to control his nerves, and the only way he could was through a strategy his father taught him. You had to picture everything around you as a faceless shadow and speak as if you were dealing with the devil himself. Which when you were a businessman wasn't too far from reality.

The three guys around him all flinched at his tone, and the two behind him looked at their leader, who was giving him a weird look. "Hey, Cardin. I can't see his name or level. You think this is a good idea. The tall thin guy said nervously." He lifted his dagger and took up a stance as he drew another.

Jaune's eyes narrowed at the name. It couldn't be the same, Cardin. Could it? And that information about his level not being displayed above his head meant the pendant was indeed doing what it said it did. He couldn't see their info either.

The guy named Cardin pulled his sword behind him getting low. "Shut up, Rus. This guy can't be a high level if he's out here by himself. It's a staring area. No one with a high level in their right mind would be out here. He's probably just some punk who got a random lucky drop. I mean, look at him, his armors broken in a starting area."

The other guy stepped back. "But dude, I can't see his name or his level either. You can't turn that stuff off. And look, He's, he looks just like the guy on the cover maybe he's."

*Boom*

The greatsword swung into the ground again. "Shut up and get him, Dove!"

Jaune frowned. So it _was_ Cardin. Cardin, Russel, and Dove. He narrowed his eyes. Even if they killed him, he'd make them work for it. And if he actually won. Well. They owed him some money.

~ 0 ~

~ song - God Diva - by ALI project ~

Fun fact. This, and all games using AVRH's, have a fascinating engine they run on. It has a system where when you use skills and abilities; it does this thing to your brain where you feel like you're the one doing it. Now that being said, when you aren't doing a scripted action, everything else is dependant on the game's physics, and your imagination, or skill as it were.

Now Jaune being a daydreamer and having been around comics, games, and anime his whole life, had a very active imagination. That added on top of all the crazy vacations his father took the family on turned his active imagination into a very detailed and active imagination. His father had also made sure all of his kids had self-defense training after becoming wealthy.  
Jaune was a black belt in two fighting styles, but he sure as hell didn't have a big body, and he hadn't practiced in a couple of years, but his mind was sharp.  
Now for the coup de grace. He'd spent so much time in single-player VR worlds and used scripted actions to hell and back so many times that he'd learned how to tell the exact moment you went in and came out of them, which he used to significant effect.

It was something even Ruby had been impressed by. She'd begged him to teach her, but he hadn't been able to, It was more a feeling and timing thing than a process you could teach. In this game, he was a force to be reckoned with. Ruby had even commented on his coordination and abilities being way better in-game than her's. It was also why _that_ lady had asked him to join her guild before she killed him.

He was pulled from his thoughts as Russel rushed him shouting out a skill.** "Sparrow thrust!"**

Jaune quickly raised his sword and stumbled to the side, clashing with the dagger as it came at his face. He stumbled back, throwing Russel's attack to the side, spinning around uneasily, dodging the second blade while kicking him in the gut just before he was hit from the side with a shield. He fell onto his back but rolled onto his feet, bringing his sword up in both hands across his body, bracing it against his shoulder as the shield crashed into him again. He gritted his teeth and pushed back, knocking the other boy off balance as he shouted out a skill.

**"Cutting gavotte!"** the first slash hit Dove's shield, knocking it away as the second slash hit him across the chest, making him cry out as he stumbled back. Jaune stepped forward, lifting the blade above his head and slashed down on Dove, hitting him across his entire body. As his sword hit the ground, a wave of energy shot forward, hitting Dove yet again, and he fell back, clutching his chest, screaming in pain as he fell.

"Ahh, it hurts! God fucking damn it!"

Just as Jaune came out of the animation, he saw a shadow on the ground under him growing larger, and he rolled forward, dodging the heavy slash from Cardin. There was a loud crash, and more dust filled the air. Jaune brought his arm up, covering his face when three daggers hit his arm, and he felt a searing pain.

*Drip drip drip plip.*

He looked down at the ground. Was...that blood? He looked over at his arm with wide eyes and a horrified expression on his face. He was bleeding! How! The game didn't work like that. He'd just slashed Dove several times, and nothing happened except him being a cry baby about the games pain modifier. But this.  
He ripped the daggers out, jumping back as several more landed where he'd been. And he felt them leave his arm. He actually felt them!

He threw them on the ground and winced as he brought his sword up. He glared at Russel and moved to rush him, but he saw a glint out the corner of his eye, and he stopped suddenly as Cardin's sword slammed into the ground right in front of him. He glared at Cardin but ignored him and stepped on his blade, jumping off of it flying at Russel, blade raised.

Russel's eyes widened, and he tried to dodge out of the way, but the skills in this game have tracking, so as long as he attacked after Russel dodged, it would land. Right after Russel's boots kicked off the ground, he shouted his only combo booster. **"Diminuendo Dive!"**

His downward slash was canceled and fluidly transitioned into a stabbing attack that hit Russel right in the gut knocking the wind out of him.  
Jaune landed on the ground, twisting his sword while it was still stabbed into Russel, making him wince as he tried to attack Jaune.  
He went low, dodging the slash while grabbing the sword in both hands, and then he slashed upwards while jumping, sending the boy flying.  
Jaune followed him and spun around, gathering momentum and stabbed down at Russel with all his strength.

There was an animation of cracking glass, and the games young narrator voice shouted.  
**"ARMOR BREAK!"**

Russel hit the ground with a loud groan and grabbed his gut, rolling over onto his side as Jaune landed.  
**"Rising Sun!"** Dove yelled from Jaune's right. He turned to look, seeing him thrusting his lance as a bright light shone around it. His eyes widened at the blinding light. Judging by the name of the skill, it was a high attack, so despite being blind, he dodged low, bringing his sword over his head, and when he heard the crunch of dirt in front of him, he shot up.

There was a loud oof as he hit Dove in the gut and threw him over his back, getting a yelp from the boy. He spun around quickly and yelled in his cold tone. **"Crescendo Spike!"** the animation started up, and he slashed down at Dove twice, hearing him scream in pain again.  
While he was winding up for the rising slash, Cardin jumped into the air yelling. **"Earth Shatter!" **Just as Cardin was coming down at Jaune, he dragged his blade across the ground catching Dove, throwing him into the air. Hitting Cardin, who being in the same party, continued his attack. As his greatsword was about to hit him, Jaune's sword stabbed up, and there was a flash of blue sparks as another message appeared between Cardin and Jaune announced by the games young narrator again.

**"COMBO BREAKER!"**

Several transparent octagons appeared between Cardin's and Jaune's swords, and then Cardin was thrown back into the air, his sword flying away as Jaune's combo continued, and he stabbed Cardin in the gut sending him after his sword.

Russel was holding his gut trying to help Dove stand up when Cardin landed on top of them knocking them all to the ground with a loud collective oof. Jaune gripped his blade tightly as the animation came to an end and just as it did he rushed forward Shouting out the next skill. **"Eternal Refrain!"**

None of them were using any kind of magic, and they were classic melee classes from what he could tell, so he figured they didn't have much if any magic defense. He hoped this would do the trick. With all of those stat boosts from the pendant, he didn't want to let this drag on, and he was feeling woozy from his debuffs. He swore his arm was still bleeding, what with his sword feeling slippery in his right hand.

He lifted his sword skyward, and it became wreathed in light, reaching high into the sky. Birds flew from trees, and the world seemed to grow darker as the brilliance from the magic attack overpowered the sun's natural light. He jumped forward high into the air and brought the shining beam of light down on all three of them.

They all looked up at the attack as it came down at them. Russel was speechless his jaw hanging open while Cardin had a stupefied look on his face. Dove was the only one to talk, and he pointed shouting. "It is! It is him! it's."  
And the attack hit them, making the surrounding road crack as dust flew into the air. And all that followed was the settling of dust accompanied by Jaune's labored breathing.

~ Song end ~

~ 0 ~

As the dust settled, Jaune felt light-headed collapsing to his left knee, using his sword to prop himself up. He gasped for breath feeling like shit, and tried to take steady deep breaths. It was weird. He shouldn't be feeling this tired, especially since the game didn't let you get tired like in real life. It had to be something to do with the 'exhausted' debuff he'd gotten earlier.

Swallowing and taking one more deep breath, he stood up while sheathing his sword. The sound of clapping met his ears, and he turned to look and see who was there. Standing just off the road under the shade of a tree was a woman with an hourglass figure, long wild black hair, and pale skin.

She was wearing a kimono of sorts with gauntlets of red iron around her hands and black thigh length boots, a katana resting on her hip. She also had on a bunch of black beaded necklaces and four rings on her left hand with some blood-red ruby earrings. Covering her face was a bone-white mask that had red markings.

Something told him he should be afraid of her, but he just couldn't bring himself to be. He was too tired. Yeah, he'd just killed Cardin, Russel, and Dove. Putting them in their places here, but the exhilaration of winning despite his broken equipment and half baked character was warring off quickly. If she wanted to start a fight, he wasn't sure he could keep going.

He narrowed his eyes at her and gripped the sword he'd just put away, but she held up her hands and walked out to meet him. "That was pretty impressive." She looked down over at the three on the floor and gestured to them before returning her gaze to him. "You gonna take their stuff before they Respawn?"

He looked at her in confusion. "What?" He was having trouble processing right now, and honestly, he thought he was suffering from the effects of an adrenalin crash. Wait, could adrenalin affect him while he was playing this game?

The woman watched him carefully for a second longer. "Hmm. You really are him, aren't you?"

He looked at her, even more confused. "Who?"

She put a hand on her hip and tilted her head, looking above his head. She made a noncommittal noise and then chuckled while shaking her head. "Beaten by an NPC. What a joke." She turned to the three on the ground and moved over to them, her inventory window opening as well as theirs.  
She hummed and then hit something in the bottom right of her inventory, and suddenly Cardin, Russel, and Dove were in the default clothes of the game. Their fallen weapons disappearing as well.

He continued watching her and frowned. It just hit him what she'd meant. He killed them fair and square that stuff was his! He looked at her equipment again and then sighed, thinking better of trying to argue with her. He instead focused on her previous statement. "You called me an NPC. Why?" He studied her as his breath finally caught up.

She stood up, fixing her kimono, and turned to look at him. "What? You saying you aren't one?" She fixed him with a searching look and glanced above his head again. "Because you don't have a screen name and your level doesn't show up, but." She paused for a second and then relaxed. "When I target you, your name pops up in my targeted box in a teal font, meaning you're an NPC."

Jaune blinked, giving her a confused look._ "What the hell? Why is it doing that?" _He would have gone back to look at the effects of the pendant, but he couldn't because of one of its other effects that stopped him from looking at stat screens. He scratched the back of his head in confusion. "Well, I can tell you I'm definitely not an NPC."

She shrugged. "Then some kinda A.I. It doesn't matter to me. It was interesting to see some upstarts think they could edge in on my territory and get away with it." She turned to face the three on the ground with folded arms and laughed. "Funny thing is I didn't have to lift a finger, and I still got their stuff."

"You're welcome," He said absentmindedly while thinking about the pendant and what she'd just told him. What she'd said about his name popping up when targeted struck him, though. He looked at her and held still for a second. Then in the upper left corner of his HUD under menu and log out, a box popped up.

**Target:**  
**Raven**  
**Player LVL 198**  
**HP: -**

Hmm. So he could still see names and levels so long as he targeted them, but as per effect, he still couldn't see HP. He also eyed her level warily.

~ 0 ~

Raven turned away from the three on the floor as they disappeared, and she smirked.  
"You're welcome."  
She looked over at Jaune, seeing him staring at her. She tilted her head and then smirked under her mask.

"Thanks. I appreciate it, though, I could have taken them no problem myself. So."

She was cut off suddenly when Jaune spoke again. "For the equipment as well. I did kill them, but you can have it."

She paused, feeling a spike of anger. Was he really going to try to get something out of her? On her turf! She moved closer to him, her arms folding across her waist, her right hand drifting closer to her sword hilt. "Oh. You'll just let me have it?"

He shrugged and started walking away. "Yeah, it doesn't matter to me." She followed him with her eyes as he left. Huh. She didn't expect that. While she watched him go, a thought crossed her mind. "What had they wanted from him?"  
She looked at his armor. She could tell it was shot, and his sword didn't look too good either. It had to be an item. Maybe a secret boss with a rare drop if all of his equipment was broken. She licked her lips and reached to draw her sword when he stopped and turned to face her.

"Hey. Do you know the way to town?" He hoped this worked. "I'm from Vacuo, and I was in Atlas before this. I don't know how to get to Vale." Or at least he was sure that was the name of the place he and Ruby had been aiming for.

"Yeah, I know how to get to town." She stood there watching him quietly for a second when she pulled her mask off, clipping it to her belt. He could see her face now, and his eyes widened.

She looked just like Yang. It was kinda shocking, but then again, the odds of it being her were slim to none. The character customization in this was expansive. It was entirely possible someone just so happened to make their avatar look like Yang, especially with how pretty she was. She looked like a supermodel and not anorexic ones.

Shaking his head, he looked her in the eyes. They were sparkling, and he saw the corners of her mouth tug up a bit. "What? Am I so pretty you're at a loss for words?" Her head tilted, and she looked down to her feet and then back at him from under her eyelashes. "I used the games personalized modeling system for my avatar." She flipped her whiled raven tresses and smiled smugly. "This is what I look like IRL."

He blushed and turned away. This wouldn't be the first time a pretty girl tried to get something from him with their looks. He stepped back as he turned back to look at her, and she frowned. "Well, that's rude." She said, letting her hands drop. He made a noncommittal sound, and she stepped back as well, folding her arms across her chest.  
"So."  
He let out a small breath at the one word she uttered. He really just wanted to get to town and spend some time fixing his stuff before Sun got on, but that one word told him it wasn't an offer to lead him there. He let out a sigh as she continued. "What were they trying to take from you that you tore them apart like that?"

He debated whether or not he should tell her but figured with her level and the rarity of the item it wasn't a good idea. "None of your business."

He turned around, figuring he'd find the way himself when she laughed coming up, getting even with him, and tilted her head while gazing at him. "Towns not that way."  
He stopped, taking a deep breath and turned the other way, but she made an 'uh un' noise. "Town isn't that way either."  
He let out a small growl, and she smirked. "I could take you to town, buuuuut."

He exhaled heavily and turned to face her. "But what?"

She pulled her hair over her shoulder, running her hands through it with an aloof expression. His eye twitched. "Well. We could come to an agreement. Let's say. That item you have that they wanted." He couldn't believe it. She was trying to extort him even after she'd taken the gear and items from the people he killed!

Ugh, this was not how he expected his first login to go. He rubbed his temples in frustration. Thinking on it, she wasn't actually trying to kill him, and he didn't have to tell her what the item was did he, he did say he had a metric fuckton himself anyways.  
Looking at the clock on his HUD, he saw it was already almost 12:00. He needed to get his stuff fixed and get something to eat and drink for his character before Sun got on. To do that, he needed to get to town.  
With a sharp exhale, he held his hand out to her. "Fine. But you have to get me there in an hour."

She threw her hair back over her shoulder, giving him a smug smile while taking his hand. "Of course. Nice doing business with you."

~ 0 ~

~ .hack/roots O.S.T. Young knight and Priestess ~

"Well, here we are," Raven said while leaning against the wall of a tavern just inside the city gates. She watched Jaune as he stepped forward, looking up in amazement at the buildings lining the road. They were large and ornate with about three floors, some more. A few had balconies and ropes with colorful flags hanging between them.

He continued walking into the town with Raven pushing off the wall following him as he turned around, taking in everything with a grin on his face. "Wow," He said breathlessly. The cobbled stone road under his boots made a clack with every step he took, and he could see people sitting in the buildings talking, drinking, arm wrestling, and gambling.  
His eyes fell on the edge of the road where a large fountain and plaza sat.

He ran up to it with wide eyes and walked around it, admiring the graphics. Then he spun around and gasped. He ran over to the rail where a few benches and some couples were sitting enjoying the view. He hit the railing and awed at the view himself.  
The fountain was resting on an overhang that looked out over the enormous city. He could see different districts with different styles of buildings and statues taller than the buildings.

Off in the distance, he could see the palace with a giant clock tower that reached high above the city walls. Built into it was a beacon constantly turning with a light that he was sure let adventurers in the field know where the town was at night. He turned to look to his left, seeing a large zigzagging walkaway that lead further into the city with the kingdoms flags lining it. People were crowding the walkaway and jumping around, in some cases, probably talking about their adventures and loot.  
Over to his right was a stairway that winded along the cliffside and branched off into directions he couldn't even see due to the vast size of the city and the buildings. Much like the other side, it was lively with traffic.

The city was huge, and everything was to scale. Sun was right. It looked like more and more people just kept logging in. He doubted there was ever a dull moment in the city. It was…fantastical. He looked out over the city again, noting it looked to be built around a large crater-like structure with buildings and roads being constructed along its levels with the main section being the center where it was flat. There he could see large pillars with an even larger fountain of monolithic scope and size. Around it was shops and markets with the cathedral situated opposite him a short distance away from the fountain with a white marble pathway leading to it. The most awe-inspiring part was the waterfalls falling into the city, filling the massive waterways he could see, with players swimming or using gondolas to get around if not the bridges.

~ song end ~

"Amazing," he whispered in awe at the city.

Someone walked up next to him. He turned to see the woman who'd led him here looking out over the city with a warm expression, a smile on her lips as the wind blew her hair behind her. She reached up, putting a few loose strands behind her ear. "It is, isn't it?"

He stood there, leaning against the railing while watching her. He had to admit he had a thing for Yang, and this woman looked just like her. It was easy to get lost while watching her. The bright blue sky and happy atmosphere just added to the calm serenity of the moment. He smiled and looked back out over the town folding his arms and resting them on the railing. "Not as amazing as some things."

Raven chuckled, and he glanced at her seeing an amused expression on her face. She lifted an eyebrow at him smirking the same way Yang did as she turned to lean her hips against the railing. "You trying to flirt with me?"

"Uh." He flushed and looked away, rubbing the back of his head nervously. "Would you believe me if I said no?"

There was a loud barking laugh that funnily enough sounded rather nice to him. He looked at her again, his flush dying down as she wiped a tear from her eyes. "Sorry, I don't date bots." She said loudly.

His eyes widened, and he stood up straight, putting a hand on his waist, turning to face her. "Hey, I told you I'm not an NPC."

She put her arms down on the rail, still smirking at him. "I don't know if I believe that. Bots are pretty human-like these days. What with A.I. and everything."

He sighed and sagged down to the bench behind him, putting an elbow on his knee, letting his head drop into his hand as he looked out over the city with an annoyed expression. "Whatever."

She laughed at him again and then turned around sitting next to him while looking at him expectantly. He glanced at her watching her for a second. "What?" She narrowed her eyes and leaned closer to him. He leaned away from her as she got closer to his face. "Uh Raven?" he said, taking a sharp breath and holding it.

She jabbed his chest. "Wheres my item?"

He deflated instantly, his shoulder relaxing as he let out a nervous smile. "Oh, right. Um…" He trailed off, and her look intensified to a glare. She did not look happy. He scooted away only for her to grab him by the collar and smile at him with the sweetest smile he'd ever seen. He was sure he'd get cavities just staring.

Her grip tightened on his clothes, and she pulled Jaune nose to nose with her. He could see the fire burning in her eyes, and he gulped. "You wouldn't happen to have been lying to me now, would you?" He shook his head, and she smiled even brighter making his stomach drop. "Good. Now, where is it?"

He looked around and nervously scratched his nose. "Um. We should probably find an ally or a private spot."

She blinked at him and then grinned as she punched his gut, making him double over and fall off the bench. "Perv." She said, looking down at him while rolling him onto his back.

He groaned, making her roll his eyes. "Really, you can't handle the game's pain multiplier?"

Jaune grit his teeth. This bitch. He couldn't believe he'd found her attractive. Then there were the effects of the pendant. This was some bullshit. He pushed her leg away and rolled onto his hands and feet, pushing himself up. He glared at her while rubbing his gut. "No, it's a special item. Don't want anyone else seeing it."

At those words, Raven stilled. She stood up, watching him carefully and nodded. "Alright. Come on, follow me."

~ 0 ~

"So really. What do you have that you had to drag me to this alley to give me?" Raven said, swinging her legs back and forth from her perch atop a stack of crates.

Jaune rolled his eyes. "Hey, you dragged me back here," He retorted to which she shrugged. He sighed and opened his inventory to which Raven hummed.

"Guess you aren't an NPC. They don't have inventories like us."

Jaune gave her a deadpan stare. "That's what I said twice already," He griped, looking up at her. Her kimono was short enough that he almost saw up it, but she smirked down at him and kicked his face making him stumble back, working his jaw, "Stop hitting me!"

She shrugged. "Stop trying to be a pervert."

He opened his mouth to retort but closed it thinking better and just shook his head. "Whatever." He scrolled through his inventory to the bottom of his items and pulled a Solid Dust Crystal out of the stack of 22, leaving him with an inventory of a 10x20 with 110 spaces filled with stacks of 99 of them and one stack of 21 with one last spot filled with 73 elixirs. Yes, 73. That's why he was broke after five weeks of grinding and was still broke when he logged in six months later.

He held the Crystal In his hand hidden by his inventory screen and then closed it. The blue glow from it caught Raven's attention immediately, making her eyes widened. "Where did you get that?"

"Catch." He said, tossing it over her head.

She jumped for it and fell off her tower of crates catching it as she hit the ground with a crash. She looked at it with wide eyes and an even wider grin. She hit examine and sure enough. "Solid Dust Crystal." No way. She stood up, looking down at it like it was the holy grail. She quickly put it in her inventory. "Hey, where did you get it? I thought they were…" She trailed off as she turned around and looked up only to see the guy was gone.

She stood there with a dumbfounded look on her face. Had she been that distracted that she hadn't noticed him go? She opened her inventory and looked at the item as it sat in there. She grinned, closing her inventory again. "There's no way he knows what he just gave up. Otherwise, he wouldn't have parted with it like that."  
She dashed to the main road and looked around for him. She couldn't see him up or down the road, so she ran to the railing and looked out over the crowds sprawling across the walkways.

A ways down, she spotted his mop of blond hair and his broken equipment. It was easy to spot him because funnily enough, he was the only blonde in a sea of crazy colors. Her grin widened, and she jumped over the rail landing on the pathway he was on. The crowd was too thick for her to reach him, but it looked like he was headed for the cathedral.  
With a confident smirk, she headed for a side ally that should let her get there sooner than wading through this mess.

~ 0 ~

~ .hack/Roots O.S.T. Friendly like in a childhood ~

Jaune took a deep breath as he walked through the city's main market place situated around the giant fountain. Off to his left, he saw an auction house and made his way over to it. This was gonna be where he finally found out how much the crystals were worth. They were always good at finding the actual price and value of items in-game. He walked into the building just as Raven walked out of an ally, head moving side to side, trying to find him. She asked a few people if they'd seen him and gave a description.

Someone eventually pointed her to the auction house, and she made her way inside. Just as she walked into the building, however, Jaune was led into a side room situated right next to the entrance by an appraiser. View of the room was blocked by the very door Raven opened. She tried to ask one of the players working there about a person named Crocea Mors, but they told her to wait until she got to the front of the line. She huffed and waited.

Just when she got to the front, Jaune left the room he'd been taken into and thanked the appraiser before leaving. Raven's view of the entrance was blocked due to the line of people behind her that weren't exactly forming a line.

She was getting ready to pull her hair out when she was told he'd left about ten minutes ago and had been arguing with someone about him for just as long. "RAGHHH! She screamed as she left the auction house. Several people looked at her while others hurried by or straight-up turned around, noping the fuck outta there.

"Where is Crocea Mors!" She shouted at the sky, making some birds by the fountain fly away.

~ Song end ~

~ 0 ~

Jaune sighed as he looked at his equipment on the counter of the armor and tailor shop he'd entered called Emerald Dragon. Across from him on the other side of the counter stood a rather quiet woman. She had long dark pink hair tied up in a bun with her bangs hanging down and matching pink eyes. She wore a green Chines styled dress that went down to her ankles. She smiled at him with one of those I'm sorry looks. "No, we don't accept trades here. I'm sorry."

"Please. I know you said money, but I don't have any. All players can trade, and I have something worth lots of money, won't you please fix my stuff for me. I'm begging you." He said, leaning on the counter with his hands. His eyes wide and pleading.

The woman named An lifted a hand to her mouth, looking off to the side nervously. "I'm sorry, the answer is no. We don't deal with the auction house after what happened when the in-game economy crashed because of an influx of high-value items during a special quest. We lost so much money we're barely able to pay rent anymore. We might lose our shop to our competitors in the market now."  
She frowned sadly while looking up behind him at something.

He turned to see a large ornate crest that looked rather familiar. "You know we've only been playing this game for a few months now, but we've found a nice place in it, and this shop is our pride and joy. Our Son is off at college, and we don't have much to do what with our jobs being low work high return."  
He turned back to look at her, and she sighed. "This game is one of the few where there are no microtransactions at all. You have to work for what you want. You must work hard and diligently and pay attention to the economy and skills just like in real life, but this world is so much more than the real world. It's magical."

She looked back at Jaune and smiled warmly. "My husband and I have put so much into this place while our real lives are rather boring and empty right now. We can't make exceptions that would put this in jeopardy. Please understand." She said, bowing before she turned to organize the shelves behind her.

Well damn. Either she was a great saleswoman IRL, or he'd just heard someone on an online game bare their heart out. He sighed and looked back at the crest on the wall. Something clicked in his head, and his eyes widened. "Hey."

The woman turned around and looked up at Jaune, who had put all of his gear back on. "Is your son Lei Ren by any chance?"

She looked at him, stunned, and blinked a few times. "Umm." She trailed off. She didn't wanna give out personal information online, and so she stayed quiet.

The young man in front of her reached up and placed something on the counter. He looked back at her and smiled warmly. "Call this a thank you for raising such a great kid. He's been a really good friend to me despite some things that have happened."

With that, he turned and left the shop. She blinked a couple of times and then looked down at the item on the counter. Her eyes widened. "Li!"

~ 0 ~

"Well, I hope that's enough to get them out of financial trouble." Jaune fingered the cracks and dents on his armor as he looked at the sign on the front of the shop. It was funny to think he'd meet Ren's parents in a game like this before ever meeting them IRL. He shook his head and chuckled. "Well, I guess I'll just wait for the one I put up for auction to sell before I try and get my stuff repaired." They were the best-rated shop in town, according to the appraiser.

With that, he turned to the cathedral and took a deep breath looking up at the monolithic structure in front of the fountain. "Well, might as well see if I can level up this pendant with my stored exp.

He made his way across the market, gently moving his way through the crowd. As he drew closer to the cathedral, everyone around him grew quieter, and the games BGM went silent. He was standing at the foot of the white marble pathway now, and he looked up at the ornate statues and benches lining it with the lush green hills running up alongside it on either side.

There were players just sitting around looking through their inventories or lying in the grass, enjoying the calming aura and nice breeze. He took one step forward onto the white marble, and suddenly all noise from the market died, the air filling with the soft sound of a music box.

~ Elfin Lied Lilium - music box ~

He felt strange. Light. The hunger and thirst from his character's debuffs were gone. Or being nullified. He felt serene, in a word. He could understand why there were people just lying in the grass a lot better now. It was calming, to say the least, like all of his worries, were being washed away. Only there was an underlying sadness to it.

He closed his eyes, taking slow, steady breaths. Then he looked up and started making his way to the huge brass doors. With every step he took, the music grew louder, and he felt more at ease. But he also felt a weight around his neck and something pressing down on his chest. It was uncomfortable and got more intense the closer he got.

By the time he reached the doors, he was having to take deep breaths just to stop from feeling light-headed. He touched them, and they slowly swung open without a sound. Inside the cathedral, there were players sitting in the pews leading up the middle to an elevated podium where a priest was preaching something he couldn't hear. Off to the left was a small music box on a pedestal. Was that what was making the music. All the way out there? He couldn't believe it, but then again, it was a game.

He turned to his right and saw what he assumed was the Ether of Naught. He made his way over to the object. It was strange, to say the least. It looked like a sphere of amber liquid that floated there above the altar. It moved as if it were alive, and it seemed to have a golden band within it that spun around what looked like a book or a tome. It was completely different from what he expected.

Looking around, he saw that no one was waiting behind him to use it, so he moved over to it and tried targeting it. Nothing happened. He grabbed his chest, feeling the weight growing even more, and his fingers found the pendant. Suddenly the sphere shifted, and he took a step back. Letting go of the pendant.

Someone behind him snickered, and he turned to see who, but it could have been anyone. Turning back to the Ether of Naught, he pulled up the help menu to see what he was doing wrong, but all it said was to target the Ether. He could feel it getting harder to breathe every second he was in here. He wanted to hurry up and get this over with, but.

He frowned and reached for his pendant again. The Ether shifted, and the inside seemed to swirl around. He shook his head. This was a game for crying out loud. Why was he so nervous? With a swallow, he clutched the pendant tightly, and the Ether began to writhe. A high pitched ringing noise filled his ears, making him feel faint.

He stumbled forwards closing his eyes, but he felt several sharp pains, and something stopped him. He looked up, hand still clutching the pendant, and his eyes widened. A dribble of blood fell down his chin, and several splats hit the floor. He looked down at himself, seeing several amber spikes coming from the Ether stabbing him in several places. One in his left shoulder. One in his right arm. One in his chest right next to the pendant. One in his gut. One in his left thigh and one in his left foot.

The thing had pierced through what remained of his armor and…it hurt.

His vision blurred, and he coughed. Blood splattered on the altar, and the Ether writhed again, forcing the spikes all the way through his body, the ringing getting louder. His only solace was the melody of the music box.

He could feel his blood dripping to the floor, and his body felt weak. Only NPCs and monsters were supposed to bleed. The pain multiplier in the game wasn't supposed to be this high. It hurt. It hurt really bad. He thought he heard someone scream, and footsteps moving closer as he slumped against the altar. Then...Black.

~ 0 ~

~ Elfin Lied Lilium - Latin ~

"Hmm." Jaune was lying on the floor. He felt something wet, but it wasn't warm. It was cold. He winced, and his eyes opened slowly. He pushed himself up off the floor, holding his head, noticing that the floor was covered in water. "What?" He could see his breath in the air in front of him. He wasn't cold in a sense he was shivering, but his insides felt cold, almost like. He couldn't really describe it. He felt empty. Like there was ice where his organs should be.

He pushed himself to his feet, and it was then he noticed he was sitting in the middle of some long narrow hallway made of stone. He turned around in place to take it all in. The hall stretched on forever. He couldn't see the ends. It was also then he noticed the haunting song filling the air. He couldn't make out the words, but It felt so sad. He stumbled to the wall behind him and looked at the wall across from him. It was a mural. It depicted a naked woman with pale skin and snow-white hair holding a skeleton as a single tear ran down her solemn face with golden vines growing up around the two.

He pushed off his wall and moved forward to touch it, but lamps hanging from the ceiling went out, and the hall was cloaked in darkness save for a strange ethereal blue light coming from the mural. He stepped back, but his boots sloshed through the water. He looked down. The water. It was rising! He started to panic. What the hell was this? It all felt too real. Had he fallen asleep while playing the game and just dreaming?

He turned to his right and tried taking a step, but his foot sank into the dark water going deeper than it should have. He tried to pull it up, but it wouldn't come out all the way. He tried moving his other foot, but that one sank as soon as he tried placing it down again as well. The water was rising rapidly now, and he felt scared he could feel tears starting to fall from his eyes as he was pulled further into the depths.  
Soon the water was above his head, and even his hands couldn't break the surface. He tried pulling up his HUD to log out, but nothing came up.

He looked up at the glowing mural from under the water, and he reached for it. His hands clawed at the wall. He banged against it, pulling, scratching anything. He felt his lungs burning, and he closed his eyes as a weightlessness feeling came over him.

The burning in his lungs stopped, and he felt a strange calm. He didn't splutter for breath. His body didn't ache. He didn't even feel cold anymore. He opened his eyes. He wasn't underwater anymore. He looked up at the ceiling above him and blinked. He could hear it now. The words to the song. Sitting up, he saw a person, a young woman sitting in the middle of the room he was in. He looked around, seeing no doors or windows and slowly got up.  
He should be feeling freaked out right now, but for some reason, he just felt…calm.

He slowly walked over to the girl. She was facing away from him and looking up at the ceiling at a single stream of silvery light that bathed her. She was singing the song he'd been hearing.

"Os iusti meditabitur sapientiam  
Et linguua eius loquetur iudicim

Beatus vir qui suffert tentaitonem  
Quonim cum probatus fuerit accipiet coronam vitae

Kyrie, fons bonitatis  
Kyrie, Ignis Divine, Eleison

O quam sancta, quam serena, quam benigna  
Quam amoena esse virgo creditur

O quam sancta quam serena, quam benigna  
Quam amoena O castitatis lilium."

The song ended, and he felt something fall down his cheek. He reached up and pulled his hand away, looking at the tear on his fingers. Was...he crying? He let his hand drop and looked up to see the girl now facing him.

Her snow-white hair was a bright contrast to the dark room around them. And her eyes. Those dull, sad, crimson eyes. She was crying. The young woman took a deep breath and closed her eyes, letting her head drop.

"Have you come to hurt me as well?"

Jaune stood there, stunned. "What?"

She looked back up at him with a heartbreaking expression. "The others. The heroes. Have you come to take my power just as they have?"

He had no idea what she was talking about. He didn't even know what was going on. "I…" He paused. He really didn't know what to say. He looked down at the floor. Was he here to take her power? To level up at the Ether of Naught to buy skills, abilities, and spells?

But then there was the pendant. It stopped him from buying any of those things. Then there was the class it gave him as well. False Hero, it had said. He looked up at the girl. "I don't know."

She smiled at him, weakly and shifted. It was then he heard the rattle of chains, and she winced, reaching down to her left ankle. He followed her motion and saw it. A chain and manacle were chaining her to the floor. He frowned at that. What the hell was this? Was it even part of the game?

He moved closer to try and help her, but her eyes widened, and she flinched, moving back across the floor as far as she could to get from him. He felt hurt that she'd do that, but then again, could he fault her? She was chained to the floor. In a dark room with no windows and the only source of light was a hole in the ceiling. This was a prison or a tomb.  
The girl was still trying to get as far away from him as possible, her chained leg outstretched to put even the smallest amount of distance between them. He frowned and stepped back. She seemed to relax slightly at his action. "Why? Why do you not come and claim what is mine?" She frowned at him. "I can sense it. You have taken from me before." She watched him warily. "And yet. I can feel none of my power within you."

Jaune opened his mouth to speak but closed it again, offering her a shrug. "I really don't know."

She eyed him with those dull eyes, and then they drifted to his sword. "You are the first to come to seek me in person. All the others simply pray to the guardian, and It siphons my power, funneling it to them. So why? Why have you come to me? A lonely crying girl in a prison she knows not why she rots in."

A notification popped up in front of Jaune's face

**Secret quest: "What little remains."**  
**Objective: Find the girl who cries.**  
**Complete**  
**Reward: Loyalty of the girl who cries**

**Secret quest unlocked: "Fight or flight."**  
**Objective" Rescue the girl who cries.**  
**Failure: The girl dies**  
**Reward:?**

He stared at the message as the same music box from before began to play.

"It comes."

Jaune closed the notification, but his HUD still wouldn't come up. He looked at the girl, and she had a small, sad smile on her face. "It seems our conversation is over."

He felt his stomach drop. This girl was going to die if he didn't save her? What the hell was going on? There was no way this was part of the game. He quickly moved over to her sliding to one of his knees and grabbed the chain pulling at it, but it wouldn't budge. He gripped so tightly he felt his hands start to bleed under his cloves. He winced. How? Why?

He gave one final tug as the music started to become distorted, and he fell back on his rear. "No. No, no, no, no, no. I'm getting you out of here." He moved forward and grabbed the chain again, but a soft slender hand rested over his. He looked to his side to see the girl smiling at him sadly.

"Please. Stop. It does not matter if you save me or not. I will still be here. I cannot die. Not in the way you do. He felt his hands loosen on the chain, and it clattered to the stone floor.

He looked at her, shocked. "But you can't just give up!" He shouted. He grabbed her shoulders and shook her. "That thing will kill you, it…." He trailed off, reaching for his chest. "It killed me." His eyes widened, and he felt a cold hand grip his heart. He looked at the girl with a horrified expression. What would it do to her?

She was smiling at him with a happy expression, but he could see the tears streaming down her face. She put a hand on his cheek, and her smile broke. "I'm scared."

She started sobbing, and the room around them grew darker. The music box became so distorted it sounded like static now, and the air behind the girl warped. He could see the same amber substance the Ether of Naught was made of forming in the air behind her.

His eyes widened, and the girl's expression became one of terror. She turned to try and see what was behind her, but Jaune grabbed her and pulled her close to him. He held her tight as the guardian formed. She gripped his back tightly and buried her face in his chest, sobbing uncontrollably.

He looked up at the guardian feeling his legs give. The memory of the pain when it stabbed him, terrified him. Fight or flee? What the hell was the quest talking about? Or had it meant to fight and save her or flee and fail? He squeezed the girl tightly, feeling weaker than he ever had before. He focused on the guardian and tried to target it.

**Target:**  
**Carnage**  
**Book 1 lvl 99**  
**HP: -**

It was more than twenty levels higher than him. He clenched his teeth and grabbed the girl's arms, pulling them away before pushing her behind him. She yelped and grabbed his shoulders as he pulled out his sword and shield.  
He had no idea if he'd be able to kill it. Thanks to the pendant, he couldn't see it's hp or how much damage he was dealing to it. Looking over his shoulder, he gave the best confidant grin he could muster and gave the girl a thumbs up. "We're going to get you out of here. Okay?"  
The girl looked up at him with a stunned face.  
He turned away from her and readied his weapons. "Cheer for me. Alright?"

The girl put her hands on his back and leaned against him, nodding. "My champion." She whispered.

"_What the fuck am I gonna do," _Jaune shouted in his head. He just told her he was going to get her out of here, which entailed killing this thing whatever the hell it was. The only problem was he had no idea how to, and if he remembered right, it could attack multiple times with those spikes, and it only needed six hits to kill him._ "Son of a bitch. Sorry, mom. I should have fixed my equipment while I was outside. God fucking damn it!"_

"Okay, that's enough." He slapped himself mentally. He had to remain calm and think. If things were still the same as the beta as far as monsters and their levels went, then it got 1000 hp for every level. It being level 99 meant it had at least 99,000 HP. If it was a tank or a boss, then it would be double that. Considering this was some kind of crazy scripted event, if it was even that, meant it was most likely a boss. So 198,000 hp.

He focused on the Guardian or Carnage, as the target box said. It used spikes to kill him, which meant it wasn't a magic type of monster, so he could probably rule out spells and self-healing. However, it had a gelatinous or liquid body, so it probably took 50% less damage from physical attacks but took double from magic, which didn't help him at all.

"_Physical and Magical ATK weren't affected by modifiers so long as the enemy wasn't immune to them you'd do that minimum based on your level, so 900 with my sword and shield. Almost 1,000 right off the bat."_

He looked down at his armor and weapons, seeing the cracks and chips in them and frowned._ "My equipment is broken too, so the effectiveness of my weapons gets dropped by a wapping 50%, meaning around 400 for my shield and 600 for my sword." _He looked up at Carnage and grimaced. _"Because of its body type, I'm sure it's halved again so In short 200 and 300, respectively."_

"_My magic is at about 650. but I've only got the one skill with a magic attack in it. So it'll be my heavy hitter if I can manage to get it out. Regardless that brings my physical damage up to 1300 with my sword and 1100 with my shield."_ He felt his stomach drop. Those numbers were doable with a healer to back him up; it would just take a while to whittle down. He grimaced as Carnage shifted, getting bigger as the rest of its body finished forming. Well, as the saying goes, 'no love no luck.'

"Come on Jaune, think what did the pendant do for you!?" Carnage looked just about complete, so he stepped forward to put distance between it and the girl by using his body as a barrier.

If he remembered right, and he was being rough about it, then he got 50 % boosts to skills and magic as well as dealing 100% extra damage. It did mean he took 100% extra damage in turn, but he already knew he died after six hits.  
That being said if he hated himself his normal attacks did about 2500 damage and his strongest ability would be **Eternal Refrain **stacking In at about

Around 7400 damage.  
So if he broke it down and this was hoping his math was right, he was looking at 28 hits with **Eternal Refrain** or 80 hits with his normal attacks. Neither seemed feasible considering he only had the SP to use **Eternal Refrain** four times before he was looking at a 4-minute recharge to use it one time, and he wasn't sure he could dodge forever.

The high pitched static sound suddenly died, and the room went deathly silent save for the sound of liquid moving as if from underwater. He tightened his grip on his sword and stared at Carnage. It just floated there. "What's it doing?" As soon as he spoke, a thin spike of that stuff shot out at him. He raised his shield hiding behind, but when it hit, he barely felt it.

He opened his eyes, and right in front of them was the things appendage sticking through his shield. He followed it down into the ground behind him and saw that it had nearly stabbed the girl. She was on the ground, shaking and staring at the spike that had broken the stone right next to her leg. Something in him snapped.

"RAHHHHHHH!" He left his shield speared by the thing and dashed out from behind it, running up the middle. Several more of the spikes shot out at him, one stabbing right next to him, breaking his left pauldron off. The other clipped his side, drawing blood and tearing one of the straps that held his breastplate together.  
He went with the hit and spun around just as another spike launched for him hitting right where he'd just been.

He slashed out with his sword following the spin and hitting Carnage. It let out a gurgling roar and flew back, shooting another spike at him while retracting the others. He slid to the floor and moving into a roll, jumping off the ground towards the wall behind it as he slashed underneath it.

It moved away again, but he kicked off the wall slashing at it once more. He connected with another hit and kicked the thing just as several spikes shot out at him. He made himself as small a target as possible and dodged two, but the third stabbed his left shoulder piercing all the way through him. He coughed up some blood and glared at the thing while he was speared on it,

his left hand wrapping around the spike in his shoulder.

It started bubbling again, and his eyes widened. He glared and bared his teeth, stabbing his sword into the thing hitting the ring at its center, and it let out a horrendous high pitched noise, like the one from the cathedral. It convulsed, and the spikes retracted, letting him drop to the floor quickly, followed by the monster.

It writhed on the ground with spikes randomly shooting out of it only nowhere near as long as before. Jaune glared at the thing staggering to his feet using his sword. He rushed it without a seconds delay, "**Crescendo Spike!**" He slashed down on Carnage twice, making It fold in on itself. The center of it bubbled, and all six spikes shot out at him in different directions as he dodged back for the rising slash. Only two of the spikes hit him. One tore into his chest, stabbing through his breastplate and out the back tearing the other strap in the process. The other stabbed his foot. He wanted to cry out, but he kept powering through as the combo attack finished. He pushed himself further on the spikes making his chest explode in pain. His eyes were watering, and he felt light-headed as he slashed the thing up into the air.  
It's spikes still stabbed into him. His body was angled back as it flew into the air.

It shot another spike at him as he reared up his stab, and the two met in the middle. There was a transparent blue octagon that shone between the contact point of the two attacks when the game's narrator shouted.

"**KNOCK BACK!"**

The things spikes instantly retracted, and his stab completed going deep into the monster hitting the thing at the center of the ring this time before the knockback effect occurred. Carnage, went flying, crashing into the ceiling, and then It fell to the ground in a heap, making an ear-splitting racket like metal grinding and twisting.

"Shut up!" Jaune grabbed his head while trying to say upright. He felt stiff like something wasn't working right, and his chest felt wrong and the blood. It was everywhere. He felt sick and spit up a mouth full of the red, coppery-rust-flavored fluid staggering towards Carnage. He only had two hits left, and he was gone. But God, why didn't it shut up! He just wanted it to stop.

He lifted his sword and slashed down at the thing. It writhed, but there was no more of the bubbling as it let out a blood-curdling scream. He roared and lifted his sword, bringing it down again and again and again. Each time the creature wined and let out a scream as it dragged itself across the floor. "Just! Shut! Up!" He was feeling really weird, and the noise wasn't helping. He'd lost feeling in his left arm, and his foot was numb. Every time he brought his sword up, his side burned something awful as well.

Suddenly a spike shot out of the creature. Only it wasn't aimed at him. There was a scream as it shot out at the girl, and she curled in on herself, huddling on the ground. It struck her hard. Her body going flying until the chai on her leg stopped her from moving any further. Jaune's eyes were wide as Carnage let out a sound that was a mesh of what sounded like static over a radio and maniacal laughter.

Jaune's eyes widened in horror, and he looked down at Carnage, his eyes flashing red. He stomped on the monster as hard as he could while lifting his blade, thrusting it down and stabbing the ring in the middle pushing his whole body down on it. "You bastard!" The thing retracted its spike, and he roared in anger pulling his sword out, continuing his yell in a monstrous tone. **"Diminuendo Dive!"**

He Stabbed the thing hard piercing into the golden ring inside of it again, and it screeched louder than ever, but he ignored it. He wanted it dead! He couldn't understand why he was feeling pain like this or why he was bleeding, why he was losing feeling or function of his limbs. He didn't even know what the hell was going on, but this thing had to die.

He twisted the blade in it as it writhed and convulsed, it's spikes shooting out randomly several hitting his armor, breaking it further or tearing his coat. His left arm tried to raise itself and grip the handle as he crouched, moving into the rising slash but only his fingers twitched and then went limp as he pushed off the ground sending the monster up into the air following it as he spun around and stabbed down at it with a furious yell Just as a spike shot up hitting Jaune in the stomach.

There was an animation of cracking glass, and the games young narrator voice shouted once more, but it came out distorted accompanied by a crackling and static sound.  
**"A- A-ARMOR-OR BR-BREAK-KK!"**  
There was an explosion as something happened. Something went wrong.

"Oh, my head." Jaune tried to push himself up, but his left arm wouldn't move. He clenched his teeth, feeling the uncomfortable stabbing numbness run along his shoulder, making his neck hurt. He pulled his right arm under him and pushed up, but his hand slipped in something, and he hit the ground again.

He took a deep breath smelling rust as warmth spread across his cheek. He opened his eyes and saw blood all over the floor. He looked at it in confusion, sliding his hand up, gripping at it weakly. His cracked gauntlet scraped at the floor, getting covered in it. He brought it in front of his face and then coughed. Spatters of blood now covered his glove.

"Oh yeah. It's mine." He said deliriously. Just then, something shifted, and his gaze moved to see what was left of Carnage. He couldn't see it completely, but the sound told him. It wasn't dead. He didn't expect it to be honestly. He'd barely done anything to it. Maybe 1/8th of its health if he was lucky.

He managed to turn on his bad arm with a grunt and pulled himself over to the twitching mass. His eyes narrowed in confusion, seeing it. It was the book. The book that had been inside whatever the substance had been. It was lying open, and the pages were moving as if the broken wings of a bird. The golden ring around it had been broken, and the gelatinous mass was now a formless goop on the floor.

He let out a chuckle seeing it. Had it really been a book all this time? Was Carnage just a tome possessed by something? He closed his eyes and took a deep, shaky breath. "Damn it, I can barely move and yet. So close."

There was a loud thunk, and he opened his eyes, seeing his sword now completely broken in half stabbing into the middle of the book's creases. His gaze turned up, seeing the girl. She was standing over the book with a determined expression, and then she turned her gaze to him. She quickly slid down next to him and turned him on his back, pulling his head onto her lap.

"Hey." He said quietly. He could barely think anymore. He was sure he'd seen her get stabbed. Was he hallucinating? He felt the weight on his chest again and reached up with his right hand gripping the pendant. And a notification popped up.

**Secret quest: "Fight or flight."**  
**Complete**  
**Reward: Spirit of Carnage**

The notification closed on its own, and Jaune blinked. He could hear a muffled voice, but he couldn't make out what was being said at all. He just smiled up at the girl above him as his vision started going dark.  
The last thing he remembered was a soft hand resting over his and another notification.

**Pendant of the Unblessed**  
**Level 2**  
**EXP 0/100**

**~ 0 ~**

**Authors notes.**

**To the guest who asked if this is gonna be a dot hack crossover. No, no, it won't.**  
**Data drain will be a thing but not the way it is in the .hack series. I am not writing a crossover with this story, but I am taking heavily from properties such as .hack, Horizon online, SAO, and others to make a world similar to those found in those properties. **  
**I have also mentioned parts and things from those stories without directly naming them except for the ALTIMATE company from .hack/IMOQ series**

**But as for your "do you know Cinder?" thing, that was gold.**

**~ 0 ~**

**For anyone who thinks the pendant will make him OP, I have this to say.**

**His pendant severely limits him in skills and such as well as there being other people just as, and more skilled than he is. This is a game, and he will die, he will lose in between winning. You can't win em all.**

**There are also other people with similar pendants as well.**

**~ 0 ~**

**Character name: Crocea Morse**

**Level: 75**

**EXP: 16,008,240**

**Next level: 33,585**

**Nationality: Vacuo**

**Affiliation: Arc Trading, Vacuo, Fifth kingdom**

**Title: Unblessed **  
**When not in a party, or if debuffs are active, gain 100% recovery rate to SP, AP, MP.**

**Trait: False Hero **  
**Grants access to no cost combos and increases effectiveness of traits without increasing trait level.**  
**(More combos, skills, abilities and spells unlocked at higher levels)**

**Class: **  
**False Hero (?)**  
**Knight (Tank)**  
**Secondary Class: Adept rouge (Master of arts)**

**~ 0 ~**

**Ailments**

**Bleeding out:**  
**Stabbed in a vital spot causing blood loss.**  
**Causes delirium and numbness. Character durability constantly drops by 50 per sec**  
**(Must be healed by a Priest/ Priestes in cathedral or with Elixir)**

**Critical wound:**  
**Waited 24 hours after death for character recovery instead of respawning.**  
**Causes constant pain and lowers physical defense by 45%, stops Character durability from recovering.**  
**[Retain EXP upon getting up] **  
**(Must be healed by a Priest/Priestes in cathedral or with Elixir)**

**Broken: **  
**Character durability is at 0.**  
**Causes all attacks upon character to be critical.**  
**(Cannot be healed with Esuna, Requires Elixir or Performance Booster)**

**Debilitation**

**Exhaustion: **  
**No sleep for more than 24 hrs**  
**Causes player to feel tired and out of breath after a combos**  
**(Must sleep in a bed for minimum of 8 hours to cure)**

**Thirsts:**  
**No water drunk for over 24 hrs**  
**Causes player to feel thirsty and light headed after combos**  
**(Must drink a bottle of refreshing water or holy water)**

**Hunger:**  
**No food eaten for over 24 hrs**  
**Causes player to feel hungry and sleepy after combos**  
**(Must eat a good meal or gourmet meal)**

**Armor Break:**  
**Equipment durability at 0.**  
**Causes direct damage to health.**  
**(Must repair armor. Broken armor cannot be unequipped unless in town)**

**~ 0 ~**

**Accessories:**

**Necklace: Pendant of the Unblessed**  
**Level 2**  
**EXP 0/100**

**Effects:**  
**Survival mode**  
**(Character must eat and sleep regularly or debuffs will incur)**  
**(Character habits change based on player habits) **  
**(Debuffs and buffs will change based on habits) **  
**Makes player's and players screen names and levels invisible.**  
**Turns off damage counter for player.**  
**Turns off HP bars for all targets.**  
**Turns off party invite system for player. **  
**(Can only be invited to parties)**  
**Turns off Mentor system. **  
**(Cannot be a mentor or be mentored)**  
**Turns off respawn. **  
**(Must wait 6 hours to get up or be revived by an ally)**  
**Turns off instant messaging outside of towns and cities.**  
**Turns off private chat.**  
**Turns off stats and gear menus in the field.**  
**Increases effectiveness of true damage by 50%.**  
**Increases effectiveness of Skills by 50%**  
**Increases effectiveness of Abilities by 50%.**  
**Increases effectiveness of Magic by 50%**  
**Increases effectiveness of Scaling by 50%**  
**Increases effectiveness of Armor by 100%**  
**Increases damage dealt and damage taken by 100%**  
**Increases effectiveness of status effects on character by 100%**  
**(Mental buffs and debuffs are only affected by sleep)**  
**Decreases effectiveness of healing spells.**  
**Decreases effectiveness of healing items except elixir.**  
**Decreases EXP earned by 50%**  
**Decreases armor degradation rate by 50%**

**~ 0 ~**

**And done. One more chapter written. I really like this story. I find it a lot more fun to write than I thought. Probably just the gamer in me talking but hey. Hope you guys enjoy it too.**


	4. Chapter 4

Project Remnant

I do not own RWBY

~ 0 ~

"_Thoughts"_

"Speech"

'words with implied meaning.'

Regular text

**Menu info**

**"Disembodied voice."**

**"**_**Disembodied thoughts /Memories."**_

~ Ch 4 ~

~ What a day ~

"Oh my god~."

"What the Hell was that?"

"Did you see the Ether? It fucking stabbed him!"

"Is he okay?"

"He fell through the floor and disappeared."

"What? Are you serious! He just fell out of nowhere too."

"Look, he's just an NPC."

"Huh? Is this part of some event?"

"I didn't see anything scheduled on the forum or official site."

"Yeah, nothing in the patch notes, either."

"Hey! Excuse you, lady."

"Whoa!"

"Everyone, move!"

"Man, what's her problem?"

Jaune felt terrible. No, that was an understatement. He felt like he was dying. Well, not that he knew what that felt like, but god he fucking hurt. All the voices and shouting weren't helping either. _"Wait… Voices?"_ He felt someone kneel next to him and start touching him around where the pain was the worst. "Oooow…"

"Hey. Hey!" The person started shaking him.

"Mmm." He winced, his face scrunching up in pain as he opened his eyes. He had to squint them because of the light shining down on him, but a face moved in front of his vision blocking out the sunlight. The light bounced off of her hair, giving it a golden tinge. "Yang?"

The face frowned down at him and then patted his cheek a lot harder than he felt necessary. He reached up, slapping her hand away weakly and struggled as he sat up. "Owe." He clutched his gut feeling the same numbness and throbbing pain from before everything went dark.

He looked down at himself, seeing his armor and clothes still destroyed and hanging off him awkwardly. He didn't know if armor worked like that generally in this game because it hadn't ever happened to him before. Just thinking about it made his head hurt. He let out an exhausted sigh and tried to lift his left arm, but it refused to move. He grimaced and reached down with his right hand pushing himself up off the floor.

"Hey, look, he's getting up."

"What is this? Seriously, is it an event?"

"I don't know, but hey…"

"He looks like the guy."

"Who?"

"You know. The guy on the case."

"Holy cow, you're right. But he looks like crap."

"Dude, this has to be a secret event."

"Yeah, it totally is."

"Wait Is that blood?"

"Damn, it is."

"He's totally and NPC. Only NPCs and monsters bleed."

Jaune held his head, trying to focus, but it was difficult. He swayed on his feet, feeling the room spin around him as he tried to focus. He looked out over the crowd that was building around him. They were all looking at him like he was some kind of spectacle. Well, he probably was. He winced as he took a step towards the crowd.  
They all gasped and stepped away from him except for one.

He needed to get out of here and find a place to think. _"What happened anyway? I was in that room with that girl and then…" _His thoughts trailed off when the woman from before who'd led him to town took a step towards him. She was looking at him suspiciously, taking in his appearance. He frowned in return.

"You're just full of surprises now, aren't you?" She narrowed her eyes as he just stepped past her with a limp, ignoring her. She turned to face him as he limped by. "Hey!" He really didn't need this right now. Last time he'd seen her, she'd kicked him in the face with a smug smile, and he was done getting hurt today.

She grabbed his left shoulder as he passed her and gripped tightly, making him wince in pain. "What do you want." He said darkly with his bangs covering his eyes. "I gave you the item already." He pulled his shoulder out of her grip and staggered a few steps away from her. "We're done." He tried to keep going, but she grabbed his useless arm and started dragging him away.

"Shut up and come with me." She hissed out in a whisper as she pulled him through the crowd of players who were gathering. A few shouted as they pushed through.

"Hey lady, you can't just take the event NPC."

"Girl, shut up."

"What why?"

"Don't you know who that is? It's Raven. Guild leader of the bandit guild."

"Huh!?"

"Piss her off, and you'll be PKed next time you leave town."

"_Event NPC? Bandit guild?"_ Jaune shook his head but stopped instantly. That had been a bad idea. Instead, he just closed his eyes and let Raven drag him wherever it was she was taking him.

"Hey, bitch, get back here!"

"You can't just take an event NPC somewhere."

"Can she do that?"

"What's the event?"

"Hey, shut up. That's 'The Raven.'"

"No way! This has to be an event if she's involved."

"Tch. Bandit guild always swoops in first here in Vale."

"Hey, where are they going?"

~ 0 ~

Jaune fell over, hitting the cobbled stone path. "Ugh. Get up." Raven grabbed his coat, roughly pulling him up. He stumbled and fell against a crate coughing a bit. "Are you really that weak? Get over it. The pain multiplier isn't even that bad." She looked down at him, glaring with her arms crossed.

He spit out some blood and wiped his mouth, turning to glare at her with an annoyed look. "Fuck you. I'm hurting pretty bad."

She smirked at him and slapped his shoulder, making him hiss in pain. "Sorry, but I don't fuck weak boys like you, I'm only interested in men."

He looked at her feeling his anger boiling. How he had thought this woman attractive was beyond him. He smirked right back, though, and pushed off the wall with his right arm. "Well, then I must be a man, or you're a liar because you won't leave me alone."

She frowned at his retort and folded her arms, looking away. "You have your uses. Or at least I hope you do."

He took a deep breath, trying to steady himself and opened his inventory, grabbing an elixir. Raven's eyes widened, but she stayed quiet as she watched him pull the cork out with his teeth before downing the golden liquid. The blood on his clothes stayed, but he seemed to stand up straighter, and his shoulder lifted from its limp position. She didn't understand it, but somehow he was taking damage like an NPC, and she'd seen him get stabbed before. He wasn't a wimp. Something was going on. To top it off, that was the second elixir she'd seen him pull out.

Ever since the end of the first Kingdom war, Atlas had refused to sell those to anyone not loyal to them, and they had a trade embargo with the other kingdoms stopping anyone from selling it to outside parties as well, and despite that, he had some._ "He said he had just been in atlas before coming here but still. Was he affiliated with them?"_  
"Done?" She asked coldly.

He tossed the empty bottle, and it shattered on the ground disappearing in a shower of golden shards. "Yeah." He looked around at the road they were on seeing large doors flanked with large ornate flags with symbols on them down the path. "Where are we, by the way?"

She turned to look at the doors lining the road they were on and put her hands on her hips. "We're in the guild sector. This district is where the biggest guilds homes are at."

He looked at her suspiciously. "Okay. Let me rephrase. Why are we here?"

She looked at him, debating what she should do. After losing him, she'd gone back to the Auction house to get the Crystal appraised, just in case he was a hacker who duped an item. Surprisingly it had been real. Now, if he had more of them, then he would be a boon to have in the guild. Other people could say what they wanted about her band of PKers, but the point of the game was PVP, while everything else was secondary. Even if the other guilds sent hit squads after every member whenever they left town, if they had equipment made with Solid Dust Crystals, then it wouldn't matter. They could take the world by storm.

She thought back to their first meeting and how he hadn't cared much about her taking the items he'd earned. The call of the fight didn't get him going since she'd seen him try to avoid fighting already, and items didn't entice him. He seemed fine with parting with priceless items as well. What could he need or want that she could even offer?  
She held her elbow in one hand while holding her chin in the other as she watched him. She wanted him in the guild, but he could always leave at any time. She needed him to stay and want to be there.

She let her left arm drop while lifting her right, opening her inventory, and pulled something out. It looked like a red card with a black outline that had a black circle in the middle with the shadow of a ravens head in black at the center. She looked at him and held out the item.

He took it slowly and turned it over several times, examining it. "What is this?"

She folded her arms and started walking away. "If you ever feel like something's missing in your life, come find my guild. I was going to take you there, but I changed my mind. See you around, killer." She waved over her shoulder and disappeared around the bend.

Jaune watched her as she left and then looked down at the card before lifting it to the sky, looking up at it. "A guild key, huh?"

~ 0 ~

A little while later, Jaune found himself back at the marketplace in the center of town. He was sitting by the fountain on one of the benches lining it. He let out a sigh, his head propped on his left arm as he watched the crowds come and go. There seemed to be a big commotion building up on the other side of the fountain.

He checked the time. It was almost 1:00 and Sun, still hadn't messaged him yet. He blew his bangs when a thought struck him. Was Sun even in the same town as him? He hadn't thought to ask before. He was about to open his messaging system when a message popped up in front of him. "What the?"

**To: Holder of ticket item number 342290764**

**We are pleased to inform you that the item you decided to sell through us has been purchased. Please return to the Auction house in Vale-main-proper to receive your payment. Thank you.**

When he finished reading the message, he sat up straight. "Huh. That was fast." He put his hands on his knees and pushed himself off the bench and onto his feet. He looked down at his gear and sighed. "Well, at least I'll be able to get all of this fixed soon now."

He rolled his left shoulder, expecting to feel some pain but nothing. He smiled. "Man, those elixirs are amazing." He took a deep breath and made his way around the giant fountain until the Auction house was in sight. He stopped dead in his tracks, his eyes widening at what he saw. "What the hell's going on?"  
There was a massive crowd leading into the auction house itself that was so large he couldn't even see a way in with everyone so close together.

He scratched his head and figured he'd come back later. "Hey, sir. You in the busted up armor!" He turned his head to one of the balconies on the second floor of the building, where he'd heard the voice and saw one of the attendants waving at him. He looked around, and no one else was looking up at her. He turned back, pointing at himself. The crowd was getting even louder now, which drowned out the next thing she said, but she did nod at him and pointed to the ally next to the building.  
With a shrug, he made his way around the crowd. A few people pushed back or shoved him as he tried to squeeze by into the ally, but he managed to get through when someone turned to yell at him only to grow quiet and grab the person next to them and point at him causing a few other people to do the same.

He had no idea what it was about, but he really didn't care all that much. As he got halfway down the alley, a door busted open right next to him, and a girl came stumbling out almost tripping. "Watch out!" She shouted, throwing her arms out to brace herself.

Jaune's eyes widened, and he stepped back but reached out to grab the girl as she fell. They almost tripped together and spun in place as he grabbed her, pulling her close the two finally steadied.

He looked down at the girl, and she looked back up at him with a ditsy smile sticking her tongue out the side of her mouth. She was short. Like, really short, with multi-colored hair and monochromatic eyes, one brown the other pink. She blinked up at him, her eyes switching colors, and smiled smugly before looking down. "Like what you're touching, sir?"

He looked at her curiously when her hands reached down, covering his making him squeeze. He blushed bright red as he realized where his hands were. He quickly pulled them back, making her laugh. "Don't worry. It was mostly my fault." She grinned evilly. "Though I'm expecting some ice cream at Gourmand's Bistro some time. This." She slapped her butt. "Is not free." She folded her arms, tilting her head as she looked up at him. "Or cheap."

Jaune grimaced, letting out a sigh. "Sorry."

She waved him off and gestured for him to follow her into the building swaying her hips more than he thought necessary. He took in what she was wearing and admired the detail. It was a red dress shirt with a black pencil skirt. She had black gloves on her hands with similar colored heels and stockings on that lead to a very smooth and creamy colored absolute zone. Just then, she swung her hips hard and stopped. He looked up at her to see her looking over her shoulder at him with a broad grin. "Pervert," She said in amusement.

He looked shocked. "Hey, I am not a pervert!"

"Says the guy who groped my goods and just checked me out." She said with a wink.

He opened his mouth to retort and folded his arms, looking off to the side, changing his mind. "Fine. I'll take you to Gourmand's Bistro. Just message me some time, and don't call me a pervert." He finished with an embarrassed flush.

She nodded with a satisfied look and led him the rest of the way inside. They turned a corner and walked down a long hall with costly looking items and a plush red carpet before turning to face a door. When it opened the sound of the crowd from before blasted them.  
They walked out onto the main floor, and Jaune instantly felt terrible for the staff.

"Hey, what the hell is this! I thought they were all accounted for? I've been on the buy list for a month!" Some random guy shouted at an attendant.

"I'm sorry, sir, but it isn't on the list. It's a new item." The girl said, trying to calm him down.

"Bullshit! There are no more! You're lying."

Similar scenes occurred at every station with people reaching over each other and pushing past to yell at the employees.

The girl leading him sighed at the spectacle and turned, looking up to the second floor. "Hey Junior, where the hell is everyone who's on-call?" She shouted.

A big guy wearing an old fashioned number jocky's outfit leaned over the rails shouting back down. "Most of em can't log in due to server size. It keeps kicking them out halfway through loading in!"

The girl sighed, rubbing the bridge of her nose and then shouted back an okay. "This whole thing is just one big mess we didn't need, especially after the last special event inflation fiasco."

Jaune feeling kind of lost tapped her shoulder. "Um, what's going on? Is this normal?"

She looked over her shoulder at him with a scowl and narrowed her eyes at him. She turned to face him and jabbed his chest. "This whole thing is your fault, you know."

He looked at her, confused. "Hey, I'm just here to get my money and get out of here."

She sighed, her glare falling, and she rubbed her temples, taking a deep breath. "It's more complicated than that."

He gave her an unimpressed look. "Why? I got a message telling me to come to collect my money, and that's it."

She shook her head and turned around, heading for some stairs waving for him to follow. "It has to do with the rarity of the item you sold. You have to be here to sign off on something before the transaction can be considered complete. It's for security reasons and to make a paper trail."

He grew quiet at that. It made sense. It was how many things in the real world worked. It was kind of interesting. "So why do I have to do it, though?"

The two walked up the steps and turned around the banister heading for the back of the auction house. She pointed to a wall with several pages held in glass cases hanging upon it. "It's a rule the players as a whole throughout the game agreed on. If you want to know the specifics read those in your own time. The short of it, however, is that since the item you're selling has a finite number, the player base wants to know where they all are. Including ones used to make weapons and armor or furniture."

He blinked in surprise. The economy in the game was serious. "Wow. I didn't expect the economy to be so...elaborate."

The girl shrugged. "It's mostly all based on this one trading group that's been around since day one. They aren't big, but they own more trade routes than any other group, and they can get you anything. The rules the game's economy works on are based on the rules in that trade group.

It helps people stay neutral or civil, even though the game is PVP based. It makes it easier for everyone to get what they need without any single nation or group hoarding everything without others knowing.

"Huh. Damn."

The girl looked back at him and grinned. "Yeah, we're also the biggest organization in the game too. Us Auction houses that is." Jaune almost laughed at that.

He moved a little faster to walk next to her and looked down at her. "So who bought the item."

She glanced at him and shrugged. "No idea who specifically it wasn't a single player but an entire guild that put the funds forward to buy it."

"What? Why would a guild spend that much money on it?" She looked at him like he was stupid, making him blush and rub the back of his head. "Sorry forgot for a second what its rarity was and what it could do."

She rolled her eyes at him. "Stupid adventurers no respect for business and economy. Just rushing in and killing stuff." She clapped her hands together, fluttering her eyelashes while plastering a sweet look on her face. "My hero."

Jaune stepped back, making a strangled noise. "Hey, I'm not some meat-headed adventurer I just don't know how the game works I haven't played it since the beta."

At his words, the girl stood still and grew silent, giving him a shocked look. She eventually cleared her throat and continued leading him wherever it was she was taking him. Was it something he said? Or was it something that was implied by what he said?

The girl started talking again without really addressing him, more so talking out loud about something for his sake. "Everyone outside is in an uproar about the item we're selling for you. Everyone thought they were all accounted for except for 53 that no one can find, and then yours popped up out of nowhere. Now everyone thinks that the big guilds are holding out on them."

He hummed, wondering just how serious this was. She continued as they climbed another flight of stairs and started walking down a hall lined with doors, a vast ornate pair at the end. "Our branch and the branch in every other kingdom checked with all current owners, but they all still had theirs or the items made with them. We even checked the records, but we couldn't find anything like people hoarding them or them getting passed around after someone decides to leave the game."  
She stopped in front of the ornate doors and turned to look up at him.

Jaune got a horrible feeling about all of this, and he looked down at her. "What does that have to do with me." He said, pointing at himself.

She sighed and shrugged. "That's exactly what the guild leader of our branch wants to speak with you about." She put her hand on the door and smiled up at him, but he could see a slight malicious twist to it that made him shiver. He felt uncomfortable and pulled his hood over his head to hide his face drawing a giggle from the girl as she pushed the doors open.

~ 0 ~

He felt awkward walking into the room like he was walking into a hearing instead of a business transaction. What the girl had told him was putting him on edge. He walked into the room, and the door closed behind him. He turned to look at it and swallowed, feeling like his only lifeline was cut. He took a steadying breath and turned back around, making his way to the desk at the back of the room situated in front of a large stained glass window.

Behind the desk sat a strict looking woman with long pointed ears and her blond hair done up in a bun. She had black round glasses hanging by the edge of her nose, and she wore a white blouse covered by a vest the same red color as the other guild members. She also a black scarf wrapped around her shoulders that had purple inside. Across from her stood another woman, and much like him, she wore a hood, though her's connected to a cloak. The cloak itself was red, but the hood was black, and he could see raven-colored tresses poking out from it. She didn't turn to face him, so he never saw her face.

The woman behind the desk nodded at the two."Buyer." she looked at the other woman. "Seller." When she acknowledged Jaune, she gave him a distasteful look while glancing over his equipment, making him feel embarrassed. He shifted uncomfortably and pulled his hood down lower to avoid eye contact. He knew it was rude and bad business behavior, but hey, she insulted him first!

The woman cleared her throat. "My name is Holy. I am the leader and guild master of the Vale branch of the Auction house guilds. I'll be overseeing this transaction. Is that satisfactory to both of you?" Jaune and the other woman nodded while staying quiet. Holy turned to Jaune again while pulling out a slip of paper, and a text box popped up in front of her. "For the record." She tapped a recording button on the box, and a red dot appeared. She pushed the paper over to the two, a box popping up in front of both of them. "E-signature, please."

The two nodded, and the woman signed, but he couldn't see what she wrote even though he should be able to see it from where he was standing. She hit the enter link, and her box disappeared. He turned to his own and moved to enter in his real name but paused and put his character name Crocea Mors, instead. Once done, he hit enter, and his box disappeared as well.

With a nod, Glynda took back the paper, and a box popped up in front of her again. She scanned it, and her eyes narrowed. She looked up at him, and her expression became a glare. "Do you think this is a joke?"  
She sounded pissed. Her voice reminded Jaune of his business professor. He flinched, stepping back while raising his hands defensively.

He had no idea what she meant. He swallowed and tried to use his business tone. "It's my character name. I've never used the auction house before. Was I supposed to put real information?" She watched him skeptically, going still for a second. Her eyes widened, and then she closed the box.

"My apologies," She excused before clearing her throat. "Well, then let us continue." She put the paper away and turned to the box that had the recording button on it and brought it between the three of them.

"Crocea Mors." She started.

Jaune frowned. "Just Arc."

Holy looked at him and nodded. "Mr. Arc" The way she said it made him shiver in a bad way. "You are the holder of the Solid Dust Crystal or SDC, and are selling that item, correct?"

"Yes."

She then turned to look at the woman. "And you are the representative from the guild Gods Bane correct."

The woman spoke in a sultry tone as she turned to look at Jaune, her hood still covering her face, but he could see the playful smile on her lips. "Yes. I am." She said in a husky tone that made him shiver.

Holy nodded again. "And your guild has amassed funds in the amount of fourteen-billion gold to purchase the item as mentioned earlier from seller Crocea Mors?"

Jaune's jaw dropped._ "What the hell!? The appraiser told me it would net around 500,000,000 million at most." _Which he'd found out couldn't even start a guild. It was insane for a newbie or low-level character, and still to those in the 200 level range. It was the equivalent of farming high-level grimm for days or weeks non stop. "_But 14,000,000,000?"_

He looked over at the woman like she was crazy. _"How long did it take her guild to get that? And they're throwing it away on an item like this?"_

He watched the woman as her smile widened into a grin seeing his jaw drop. She turned to face Holy and nodded. "Yes, that was the amount agreed upon in the auction."

Holy nodded and then turned to Jaune. "Is this amount acceptable to you, Mr. Arc?"  
Jaune tried to say something, but his jaw wasn't working. He just nodded stupidly while Holy turned to the other woman with a stern business-like expression. She hit the record button closing the box while bringing up her messaging box and then typed out a message hitting send.  
"Well, Ms. Fall, the item has been sent to your guild. They should receive it within the hour."

The woman dubbed Ms. Fall nodded. "Thank you, lady Holy."

Holy, hummed, and then looked between the two. "Now that the transaction has been decided, all that remains is the payment and receipt of ownership." She leaned back in her chair, fixing Jaune with a calm expression. "Mr. Arc, Due to auction, the item has sold for 14,000,000,000 as agreed upon just now. Due to the items original value being at around 1/28 of that sum, the guild Gods Bane has asked for leniency in appropriating the funds."

Jaune frowned. He thought they had everything. He kept quiet, though, waiting to hear the end of it. "The guild has credit in amount more than 14,000,000,000, so we are inclined to endorse them and assure you that you will be paid." She looked at Ms. Fall. "However, if you wish to receive all of your money upfront we have offered to subsidies the full amount in exchange for a weekly payment of 500,000,000 with a 2% interest rate should Mr. Arc refuse the payment plan your guild has set up with us."

She looked back to Jaune, who was honestly shocked and impressed. He hadn't expected the game to be this into it with the economy. He was floored. Ms. Holy looked at the two of them and then focused on Jaune. "So Mr. Arc, will you consent to the payment plans, or do you require the full amount?"

Jaune was shocked. He wouldn't even know what to do with that kind of money. And he had stacks of the item with a crowd of people arguing over them downstairs and spilling into the street. They were just the ones he'd seen too. "God." He said quietly.

Holy rolled her eyes, and Ms. Fall chuckled at his reaction. "I take it you see this as a large amount then, Mr. Arc?" Ms. Fall asked him with that husky tone.

He looked at her with a shocked expression from under his hood. "You're saying it's not?" She just laughed, and Holy cleared her throat.

"Mr. Arc, this amount is nothing but pocket change compared to what the top ten guilds spend on a daily, and yes, I mean that literally, daily basis. You simply have chosen a time, not even a day after the last Kingdom war, to sell your item, which for all intents and purposes, is a good strategy. Guilds are looking to recoup losses and build themselves up after those losses. With all the major guilds having exponential credit, they will be forced into payment plans such as this to do so. If you refuse her deal, you will be doing the Auction house guilds a service."

This drew a small growl from Ms. Fall, who folded her arms, turning her head towards him a bit. "But if you accept, it will mean a favor from one of the top ten guilds."

Holy sighed and waved her hand. "Yes, or you could get a good relationship with the Gods bane guild. So, Mr. Arc, do you accept or decline their deal?"

Jaune was stunned. 14,000,000,000 was pocket change to these people!? Holy shit. Now on the side of business, being on the Auction house's good side would be suitable for future deals if there were any, but having one of the top guilds owe you something because of a small favor like installment payments seemed more enticing. Money was essential to a degree but, if he were lenient with them here then down the line when he started his group, then they would be more inclined to do business with him.  
He turned his head to look at the woman in the red cloak and held out his hand. "I'll take your deal. Nice doing business with you."

Ms. Fall smiled at him from under her hood and took his hand, shaking it. "Hmm. A patient man, I see. Well, let's hope to do business again in the future." She turned to leave, but before she walked off, she pulled her hood down and glanced at Jaune as she walked by. Her ebony hair fell in waves across her shoulders, and her bright amber eyes looked him over slowly. She held out something to him, and he took it while maintaining eye contact. "It seems you do indeed know how to choose your friends. Let's hope you can commit." and with that, she walked off.

Jaune stood there with a shocked expression on his face hidden mostly by the hood. He felt his stomach tighten and watched her go, feeling nervous. Then he looked down at what she'd given him. He frowned. It was a pale gray, almost white card with a dead tree colored in black with a shattered moon behind it. A guild card. He let out a sigh putting it in his inventory and turned to leave.

"Mr. Arc. Please do not leave yet," Holy said in a cold tone.

He turned back around, feeling like he was about to get a lecture. "Um. Yeah? What is it?"

She stood from her desk but remained behind it, fixing him with a disapproving look. "I hope you realize the gravity of the situation you've caused."

He honestly had no idea. Wasn't the crowd outside ordinary for an item like that? Had it been something abnormal? The girl said it wasn't, but he didn't know how much the crowd was exaggerated from regular. He decided to pull his hood down, and the woman behind the desk looked at him, stunned for a second. "Um. I have no clue. Today is honestly my first day back in the game. The last time I played was right before launch. I was in the beta."

Holy's eyes widened even more, and she took a deep breath. "This is going to be a problem." She pushed her glasses up in a very familiar way and then sat back down, letting out a tired breath as she closed her eyes. "Mr. Arc, the economy in this game is a crucial and fragile thing." She looked out the window behind her while rubbing her neck. "Even one item like the one you sold could cause chaos in the game." She glanced at him. "And it has. The community is in an uproar. I'm sure you were able to see some of it while coming here."  
He nodded.

"The item you sold through us is used to make the best items and gear in the game as it's description reads." She turned to him with a glare. "You did read its description, didn't you?" She asked imperiously.  
He quickly nodded several times, holding his hands up. This woman was starting to remind him of someone.

Her glare lessened, and she frowned. "Well, at least you learned."

He looked at her curiously. "Come again?"

She waved his question off. "As I was saying. The strongest guilds, as well as players who grind or no life the game for enough funds, fight over them ruthlessly. Whenever one is found or put up for sale, everyone scrambles to get a hold of them. They are, after all, a limited recourse. What you will not know or have guessed, however, is just how valuable they are. 500,000,000 is the highest an item can be appraised for though many go for far more, hence the auction houses initial purpose. To auction them off until someone offers the proper amount. An SDC and items made with them typically reach the tens of billions. The highest I've ever seen one go for was 37 billion."

Jaune balked at the number. She smiled at his reaction folding her arms across her chest. "It's good to see you have that reaction. Well anyways. Items made with them are valued so highly because they can alter the flow of guild sieges and help win entire battles during kingdom wars, in the right hands, of course. Due to this, the player base as a whole decided that kingdom wars are to be severely regulated so only other people with such items will face each other for the most strategic points." She trailed off, looking at him expectantly.

He blinked and then looked down. "And since there's a finite number, it's very probable to stack odds unevenly. Which I probably just did."

She smiled at his deduction and nodded. "Yes, that is correct. It is also easy to buy loyalty when items like those are in your possession. Guild members defect and rejoin other guilds frequently when things aren't going their way. Can you guess what they take with them?"

He let out a long sigh. "The special weapons."

"Again, correct. That, in turn, causes animosity, and infighting is very detrimental. Power structures can fall apart in minutes. Guilds often have hostile takeovers where they kill their members and take guild keys to stop old members from reentering. I have seen it happen many times, especially among newer guilds that get their hands on ore or a weapon only to have one person get greedy and take over then pledge loyalty to a bigger guild for profit or items."

Jaune winced at that and rubbed his shoulder. "Sounds bad."

"Indeed." She leaned over her desk, looking him in the eyes. "Can you form an idea as to what someone with several of these items could do and how game-breaking it would be." He shook his head, and she steepled her fingers together, nodding. "It would ruin the game. It would make things unfair and impossible for the other kingdoms to fight back should any singular guild take over. Something of this nature happened In the first month of the game's release, which is why the rules based around them were made."

Jaune paused, taking in the information. He felt weird. He'd just sold an item to one of the top ten guilds thinking he'd made a good business deal, and here she was telling him that everyone else in the game would be watching him and most likely not saying very pleasant things about him.

Holy made a humming sound drawing his attention. "Well, it seems you understand what it is you've done now."

He slammed his hands on her desk. "Why didn't you warn me!"

She scowled at him, making him flinch back. "It is not my job to council sellers in the repercussion of their actions, Mr. Arc. I am merely a glorified middleman. I am doing you a favor in explaining to you this much!" She yelled back from her seat. "Do not presume to have the high ground." He picked his hands up off her desk and stepped back, apologizing. She fixed a loose strand of hair and sighed. "Having said that, do you have any more, Mr. Arc?"

He felt like he was being put into a corner what with all the politics he'd just jumped into. He was a business student, not a political major. This was supposed to be a fun game to kill some time and help Sun's group make money. He wasn't trying to get involved in all this. Looking at Holy, he shook his head and lied. "No, I don't have anymore. I only had the one."

Holy hummed quietly and nodded before standing up suddenly and slamming her hands on the table. "That's a lie!" Her face was red, her hair falling into her eyes again, her glasses now hanging from a thin chain around her neck.

He flinched, moving back as she glared at him. "I don't know if you are aware of this, but a couple that plays the game together who happen to be in debt to us came in today and traded the guild one of the SDC for their debts to be paid off as well as to order all of the highest quality sewing and smithing equipment we can get our hands on so long as the crystal covered expenses."

Jaune flinched, rubbing the back of his head nervously. "What a coincidence."

"Bullshit!" She yelled, slamming her fist on the desk. They mentioned that a young man in blue with broken equipment gave it to them. Do you know anyone like that, Mr. Arc?"

He was starting to sweat now, and he pulled at his collar, offering a nervous smile. "Can't say I've seen anyone like that."

Holy gave a mirthless chuckle. "Cute Mr. Arc. It just so happens that another woman came in earlier today who had one appraised to see if hers was fake or a cheat item that was duplicated. Funny thing is she said she got it from a person named Crocea Mors whom she was trying to find as well."

Jaune cursed under his breath, grinding his teeth. "Raven, that bitch."

Holy sat back down, taking a calming breath while folding her arms and crossing her legs as she fixed him with a cold stare. "And here you are selling one yourself. That is three crystal, Mr. Arc. They come in a stack of 99, and according to the game developers, there are about 300 stacks of 99. 191 of these stacks are accounted for in full, with 53 unaccounted for in the only incomplete stack we know of. Well, 50 now." She eyed him dangerously. "You had 3 of them and gave them away like it was nothing. You also said you last played in Beta, if I recall correctly, which gives me a theory. So I will ask you one more time, Mr. Arc. How many more do you have?"

~ 0 ~

Jaune walked out of the side entrance to the Auction house with heavy steps. He looked up at the girl who'd walked him in and out, and she waved at him with a smile, holding her hand to her head like a phone before closing the door. They'd exchanged addresses, and she'd insisted on him getting better gear before she dragged him around town. She'd even said that she knew he could afford to spoil her with the sale he made, so there was no backing out. Now he didn't like being extorted, but technically it was retribution for being a perv even if he wasn't trying to be. He could let this one slide.

With a sigh, he turned to exit the ally and headed off for the Emerald Dragon for the second time today. What he didn't notice was the person wearing a red cloak watching him from further in the ally.

He made his way through the ever-growing crowd, which surprised him. It was already 2:30, and it just wasn't dying down. He thought back to the conversation he'd had with Holy after admitting to having more. Granted, he'd still lied and only told her he had one full stack and another of 20 now after selling 3, which had made her eyes bug out. She'd instantly told him he couldn't go selling all of those like he did the first because it would cause absolute chaos and even start a massive guild war. It was then that she'd told him that they didn't usually do this, but if he were willing, they would act as a bank for him and hold onto the crystals he had. And work on distributing them evenly for him.

He'd consented. It wasn't that he wanted to sell them or anything, but she'd said it would go a long way to fixing the situation he'd created. It would even help build up a few rumors about him as well. He almost freaked out at that and asked her why he'd even want that.

She'd told him it would be good to keep his identity as the owner secret but that they should make it known publicly that someone had found them and decided to make them accessible and was distributing them evenly. She explained how it would build trust and favor with the community while building up his image or shadow in this case since he was staying hidden to avoid trouble.

Holy had personally set up an official account for him with them and asked if he had an organization he affiliated with that they could mention as owning to divert attention from him as an individual.

He remembered that he was affiliated with something called Arc trading and told her which had made her freeze and then look up at him with this proud expression that he didn't think made any sense. With that, she'd told him everything would be done by tomorrow, and he'd left.

Now here he was contemplating the situation he was in. "God, I'm so screwed." He took a deep breath, trying to calm down when he looked at the time. His eyes widened, and he freaked out, pulling open his IM tab. He typed in Sun's info and hit call instead of a message, trying to get a hold of his friend. It was more than an hour past the time they were supposed to meet up and…

**"Dude, Jaune, something came up. I can't hang with you right now. There's some crazy shit going on in the game, and everyone is freaking out. I know I said we'd play together today, but I can't. I'm really, really sorry. I'll hit you up in-game or text your phone when I'm free. I hope you have a good day, man. I promise I'll make it up to you."**

Then the call ended, and Jaune stood there speechless. He slowly closed the IM tab and winced whispering an apology to Sun, knowing It was probably related to his SDC's. He let out an exhausted breath scratching the back of his head and looked up at the sun in the sky. "Well, you have a bunch of gold now, buddy. Might as well head back to the Emerald Dragon."

~ 0 ~

The bell to the Emerald Dragon dinged, and An Ren looked up from behind the counter. Her eyes widened, and she stood up, jumping over the counter before running up to the person who entered wrapping her arms around him tightly. "Oh, thank you! Thank you so much."

Jaune looked down at the woman in shock and slowly placed his arms around her, returning the hug awkwardly. "Um. You're welcome?" She stepped back from him, beaming as a man walked out from a back room while wiping his hands on a towel giving the two a curious glance. An looked at the man and clapped her hands together, smiling warmly at Jaune before she grabbed his arm, pulling him over to the man. "Li, this is the boy who helped us. Can you believe he's friends with our boy? I knew Ren would make good friends while he was off at college!" She said excitedly.

The man's eyes widened slightly in realization after what his wife said, and he smiled, bowing deeply to Jaune as his wife did the same. "Thank you, young man. My wife and I are thankful for what you did. We didn't know how we were going to get out of our…" He trailed off.

His wife looked at him and frowned slightly before looking at Jaune and forcing a smile. "Our little problem."

"Yes, our… little problem," Li finished.

Jaune smiled at them and waved his hand. "You don't have to talk about it, I…" He paused as the two watched him expectantly. He didn't know if what Holy had told him was confidential or not, so he thought better of what he was going to say. "…Don't need to know. If I helped you guys, then I'm glad I could return the favor. You don't need to give me anything in return."

An and Li exchange curious looks and then fix him with conflicted expressions. Li put a hand on his shoulder. "There has to be something we can do to thank you." His wife nodded from behind him.

Jaune chuckled and gently took Li's hand off his shoulder, shaking his head. "There's no need. I was thanking you for doing so well in raising Ren." He used An's words from earlier. "After all, hard work and working hard pays off in the strangest of ways. It just so happened that you two working so hard at being good parents ended up with me getting one of the best friends I've ever had. Consider the item a token of my heartfelt appreciation."

The two gave him approving looks, and An wiped a tear from her eyes, nodding. "You're parents did a good job of raising you as well. Mr?"

The two looked at him, waiting for a response. "Arc."

Their eyes widened, and they looked at each other with surprised looks. Li smiled, folding his arms, and nodded at Jaune. "Well, I think I know a perfect way to return the favor, Mr. Arc."

He looked at them curiously and sighed. "You don't have to, you know. I'm glad I could help where I could."

An giggled and then looked at her husband, nodding. "I think I've made a decision, and it seems you have as well." Li nodded and grinned at Jaune.

He threw the towel over his shoulder, putting his hands on his hips and cracked his neck. "Well. If you don't want thanks from us, then you must have come back for our services. And no offense meant, but it looks like you are in dire need of them."

Jaune looked down at his equipment, smiling sheepishly while rubbing his neck. "Hehe. You got me. So how much will it cost me to get it upgraded?"

Li hummed while looking at Jaune's tattered armor and then shrugged. Hard to tell. I'll need to know what you want me to upgrade it with first and what level it is." He gestured for him to follow him to the counter, where he motioned for Jaune to put his stuff down.

He unequipped his armor, now scraps and broken straps, then placed them on the counter. Li took out some kind of monocle and examined the pieces thoroughly before smiling. "Now, this will be a good challenge. Never worked on Atlas made stuff before, and it's the highest level stuff I've ever been asked to upgrade. Most high-level players go to the palace for that."

Jaune tilted his head frowning. "I think I trust you more. Hell, maybe you're even better than the people up at the palace, and nobody knows it."

Li looked up at Jaune and grinned, puffing up his chest. "Of course I'm the best. It's just that nobody thinks small shops are capable of heroic grade equipment. Just you wait, it'll be twice as good when I'm done with it. Now just give me the items you want me to upgrade them with." There was a sound of several rocks hitting the counter, and Li looked down. His eyes bugged out, and he looked at Jaune in shock.

"Only the best materials for the best smith in Vale, right?" He said with a grin. Li just stood there in shock before he burst out laughing and took everything to the back room.

"An I like this boy, Ren did good!" He shouted from the back.

An rolled her eyes and leaned on the counter, watching Jaune with a warm, playful smile. "So." She said, eyeing his clothes. "Need me to fix those for you too." She said, gesturing to his torn hooded coat. He nodded and unequipped it as well now in the default clothes of the game. She took them and nodded at him as she turned to the shelves behind her.

Just then, Jaune's stomach growled, and An laughed. I see your avatar is hungry, Mr. Arc. Would you like something to eat? He looked at her with a sheepish expression and nodded.

"Actually, yeah. Something to eat and drink sounds wonderful. A bed would be nice too. I can pay if you want." He said, opening his inventory to which An waved him off.

"Don't worry, it'll take a few hours for us to finish, so if you want to eat something and put your avatar to bed, we have a spare room. A friend of Ren's is always welcome in our home. Be it here or IRL."

Jaune smiled at her appreciatively and bowed to her the same way she and her husband bowed to him earlier. She giggled at his attempt and waved him off, pointing to the stairs. "It's the second room on the left. I'll be back with a meal. Once you're done, you can use the bed. We'll send you an e-mail when everything is done."

Jaune nodded and sluggishly made his way to the second floor feeling everything catch up to him. Food and sleep sounded perfect right now.

~ 0 ~

"Ahhh. What a day." Jaune sat up from his bed, taking the AVRH off and looked out his window to see the sun on the other side of his window. "Man, I can't believe I was in there for almost seven hours." He slid off his bed and put his AVRH on his desk next to his PC and then stretched feeling way better now that he was out of the game. "God, I can't believe that I feel better now that I'm not in the game anymore." He frowned and reached up to rub his gut. "It felt so real."

He yawned, shuffling out of his room, feeling stiff, and moved into the living room looking around. "Penny." No response. "Penny?" He walked into the kitchen, not seeing her there or in the other bedroom. Scratching his head, he walked back to the living room. "Where could Penny be?"

"Mr. Arc." Ceres the automated V.I. beeped to life surprising him a bit. "Penny went out for her monthly inspection. She also left you a message."

He blinked at the little device sitting on the coffee table and blinked a few more times. "Well, Ceres, what's the message?"

Ceres beeped to life again. "I don't know. Penny left a written note on the front door.

"Oh. Thank you, Ceres."

"You are welcome, Mr. Arc."

He walked over to the door and grabbed the note stuck to the door once he was close enough.

**Jaune, I've gone out to get my regular check-up and some groceries for the week. I'll be back around midnight. Please enjoy your day to the fullest.**

**P.S. I ordered pizza for you. It should arrive at 3:00 how you like it.**

**P.P.S. you should invite the pizza girl in. She seems nice.**

**P.P.P.S. Lots of love, Penny.**

It was accompanied by a cute chibi drawing of herself waving at him with a heart around the whole thing. He smiled down at the note and laughed. Penny's drawing skills were getting pretty high up there, especially compared to his own. "I wonder what time it…" The doorbell rang. He blinked and looked at the clock in the hall. It read 3:00 exactly. "Huh? Would you look at that? I logged out at the perfect time."

He put the note in his pocket and undid the chain, flipped the deadbolt, and opened the door. Standing there in a black turtleneck with dark gray yoga pants and black high heeled boots was Blake. She smiled at him, holding out the Pizza box to him with an amused grin. "Is Jaune home?"

He grinned, shaking his head and opened the door all the way moving to lean against it while chuckling. "Yes, he is, and he's starving. He took the box. Opening it to see what she'd brought him. It was a cheese-stuffed-crust pizza that was half pineapple and Canadian bacon with the other being grilled chicken with spinach. He lifted an eyebrow at the pineapple half. Now he was a pizza lover and ate just about anything one would typically put on pizza, but it was not his favorite.  
Looking up, he gave Blake a big smile. "Thanks, Blake." He pulled out his wallet. "How much do I owe you?"

She smiled back at him, waving him off. "It's all good, Jaune. It's been paid for. I got off early today and just brought this by because I live in the area."

His smile turned into a bright grin. "Awe thanks Blake, I really appreciate it, thanks a million."

Blake gave a small tilt of the head and smiled while she stepped back from his door and made to leave. "Well, I guess I'll get going then." She took a step and then stopped again, turning to wave to him. "Hope the rest of your day goes well."

He lifted his hand to wave, but instead, he pushed the door open against the wall and stepped to the side. "Hey, Blake." She let her hand drop and looked at him curiously. He scratched his cheek and looked to the side, feeling embarrassed. "Would you. I mean. If you aren't doing anything else, wanna come inside and hang out? It's still pretty early in the afternoon so we could make a thing of it. Maybe watch a couple of movies." He shrugged. "Catch up, er well get to know each other better. You know."

She blinked at him a couple of times and then rubbed her arm nervously before looking away. Jaune felt his hopes die a little, figuring she had somewhere to go. It wasn't like he was hoping she'd say yes or anything, but he hadn't hung out with anyone for a while, and Sun hadn't been able to meet up with him, so he kind of wanted to spend time with someone. To his surprise, she nodded. "All right, Jaune, I'll bite. What are we going to watch?"

He looked at her, shocked. Did he hear right? She actually said yes. He beamed at her making her flush in embarrassment at his enthusiasm. "Well, there's a few I've been meaning to watch that I haven't gotten around to. What's your favorite genre?"

Blake looked away from him and blushed, speaking quietly. "…"

He blinked and moved closer. "Sorry, Blake, I didn't catch that. Can you repeat it."

She took a deep breath and folded her arms. "Romance and romantic comedy." She said again quietly.

Jaune grinned. "How about Silver linings playbook?"

"What?" Blake blinked at him. "What's that?"

Jaune just looked at Blake with a look of disbelief. "Get in here now, were watching the Silver linings playbook."

She gave him a strange look and then smiled, shaking her head as he moved to let her in. She stepped past him as he closed the door. "Sorry for the intrusion." She said loudly."

He chuckled. "No one else is here, Blake, just."

**"Hello,"** Ceres called from the living room.

Jaune closed his mouth, trying to stifle a laugh. "Me and my house system, I guess."

Blake rolled her eyes with a smile handing her coat to him as she reached down to unzip her heels. He put her coat on a hook inside the hall closet, and then they walk into the living room. "You can sit wherever but the couch is the comfiest." He said, placing the pizza box down on the middle cushion. She nodded, taking a seat on the couch and looked around. "Ceres, please put on the Silver linings playbook."

Ceres beeped. "Silver linings playbook, now playing."

"Great. Thanks." He turned to Blake and grinned, gesturing to the pizza. "Help yourself. I'm going to grab some drinks. Anything in particular you want?"

Blake looked up from the screen that was playing some random movie trailer. "Um. Yeah." She nodded. "I'd like some red wine or something fruity and strong if you have it. If not, tea or water is fine."

Jaune smiled with a nod giving her a lazy two-finger salute as he walked off. "I got ya covered."

She looked back to the screen, her eyes wandering every few seconds. She noticed how well kept the place was and smiled. She knew Jaune probably spent most of his time studying or eating at the pizza joint she worked at, so he didn't have the time to keep it this clean, dusting included. She figured it must have been the girl that everyone always mentioned hung around him.  
She knew he was rich, having played together as kids when their parents were talking about business deals way back when.

She figured he didn't remember her though, considering when they'd been introduced to each other by Weiss, he'd acted like it was the first time they'd met. He was really nice back when they were younger, but she wondered if his family's money had made him turn out more like Weiss with her spoiled heiress attitude. So when he hadn't remembered her, she went with it.

To her surprise and delight, he'd remained the same lovable dork for the most part. He'd grown up as most people do, but something about him was different. He'd more than matured. Something had taken the awe and joy she'd seen in his eyes as an 8-year-old and replaced it with something less warm. It surprised her to learn during one of their conversations at her job he was paying for his education.

It had impressed her that despite having wealthy parents, he was doing something that made money to pay for his way through school. She was rich herself but had taken up the pizza job to see what it was like working as an entry-level worker, and it had been eye-opening. Granted, her parents paid for her classes, but they'd told her since she wanted to move out, she needed to learn responsibility, so rent for wherever she was staying, and food was on her.

She stretched out along the couch and pulled the pizza box on her lap, opening it up, hoping it wasn't his usual spinach infused muck. To her surprise, half of it was her favorite, pineapple, and Canadian bacon. She smiled to herself, shaking her head as she grabbed a slice. She stayed away from pizza so she wouldn't get tired of it, which made this unexpected coincidence all the better.

As she took a bite out of the slice, she wondered if she'd ever told him her favorite type of pizza. She looked over to the kitchen entrance hearing him put something on the stove and pop a cork. Now that she thought about it, he'd invited her in out of nowhere. Not that she was complaining, but had he planned this?

She shrugged and turned back to look at the screen, watching the next preview while munching on her slice, slowly savoring every bite. She couldn't help but let her mind wander, and she started thinking about how much she technically owed Jaune. He'd been extremely generous with his tips over the last three years what with his frequently given her 200% tips and even straight-up $100 frequently. She'd always refused, but he'd insist saying he knew she went out of her way to deliver to him because she was the only one who would. That was unless her boss ordered someone to do it on her off days so as not to upset such a good customer.

"_He's stopped me from missing rent and going hungry on more than a few occasions."_ She thought while biting into the cheese-stuffed crust. She knew he lent money to lots of people too, so it wasn't like she was special, but it was nice to know Jaune was around. He was more reliable than people, like say her ex, Adam, by a landslide.

She'd been dating Adam for years, and he'd been a great guy at first, but he changed over time. He went from being a caring boyfriend who'd go out of his way to help her with any problem she had, but that stopped after he'd met her family. She sighed. "It was probably the money."

"All right, coming in," Jaune called from the kitchen.

She saw him walk into the living room, holding several bottles of wine, a teapot, and a pitcher of water as well as two glasses. She giggled and rolled her eyes. He always did bite off more than he could chew. "Here, let me get some of those." She placed the box back on the couch and slid her legs off, moving to stand, but he lifted a leg keeping her back.

"Naw, I got it. Watch this. I've been practicing." She stopped trying to grab the pitcher and teapot and moved to sit back down, giving him a suspicious look as he grinned at her. He tossed up the wine bottles while grabbing a TV tray next to the couch with his left leg. He swung it around in front of her, and it popped open. He quickly placed the pitcher and teapot down on it Just as the wine bottles were coming back. He caught them one by one, juggled them in a way she didn't understand while placing the glasses on the tray and filling them up as the bottles flipped upside down. With a flourish, he set everything down flawlessly with only the odd drop spattering the try. "Man and I'd finally done it without spilling a drop the other day." He said with a slight frown.

Blake looked at the tray with wide eyes and then up at Jaune with a stunned expression. She started clapping softly as a cheese-eating grin spread across her face. "Wow, Jaune, that was actually really cool."

He looked at her and smiled bashfully, rubbing his head in that nervous tick he'd had since forever. "Well, thanks. I've been learning useless skills like party tricks and stuff in my spare time."

He continued to go on about similar stuff, but she just smiled at him shaking her head. Jaune was one of a kind. A great guy that was well liked by his peers and his friends. He had a good head on his shoulders, he was also a hard worker, and he was the friendliest guy she knew. He had a 4.0 GPA, and instead of worrying about papers and finals, he was learning parlor tricks.

On top of all that, he genuinely cared about others. It had been one of the things that drew her towards him as a kid. It was the main reason she didn't understand his fallout with Ruby. She'd heard all about it, and had even been given the whole 'are you on my sister's side or his?' by Yang. But it didn't add up.

Honestly, from what she'd gathered from Ruby's version and Yang's, she thought Jaune was right, at least in his intent. He could have worded it better, but hey, it was Jaune. She could see why it would be a big deal though considering Ruby's passion and love for games as well as the fact her source of income was in being a good player in the hottest MMORPG, which was 'The world of Remnant,' right now, and would be for years apparently.

Still, she'd had to side with Ruby for the sake of not causing a rift in the group. It didn't help her conscience that it was her childhood friend and all-around great guy that she was siding against, however. It felt wrong, and she'd seen his personality becoming more subdued along with the signs of depression she'd seen him exhibit. She'd taken full advantage of the fact nobody, but he knew where she worked to make amends, at least in a small way. It had been by delivering to him even though he was outside of their delivery rout at first, but they'd started talking for minutes at a time, sometimes making her late on delivery routs, but it was worth it to gauge whether or not he was doing all right. It made things more comfortable when he started eating out all the time and call her crazy, but she had a feeling he knew what she was doing, but Jaune was one of the densest people she knew so probably not.  
"Hey, Blake, you alright?" He rubbed her arm, trying to get her attention.

She blinked a few times and looked at him, confused. "Huh? What's up?" Damn it. She'd been doing it again. She had a habit of going off into her own world when thinking about something or reading. She put on a smile that she had to admit wasn't hard at all when she was around him and focused on his cobalt eyes. "Sorry, I was thinking. Were you saying something?"

He rubbed the back of his head again, and she had to resist the urge to slap at his hand and tell him to stop. It was cute when they were kids, but he really needed to grow out of it.

Jaune saw her look and followed her gaze to his hand, slowly putting his arm down before clearing his throat as he leaned back against the couch, sliding to the floor. Blake watched him and then swung her legs over his head, taking her lounging spot on the couch again as she looked at him. "Well, I was just saying that I started playing the game Ruby was all about. You know the fantasy PVP MMORPG."

"The world of Remnant?" Blake questioned.

He nodded. "Yeah, that's the one I. Wait, how did you…" He trailed off, seeing the playful smile she had on her face as the movie played in the background.

She shrugged, pulling the pizza box on her lap, taking another slice for herself while grabbing one of Jaune's disgusting spinach slices and gently sliding it into his hanging mouth. "I started playing it a couple of months back to…" She didn't want to mention Ruby and ruin the mood in the room, so she made a quick save. "…See what all the hype was about." He bit down on the slice in his mouth, and his eyes lit up at the taste as well as what she'd said. She giggled while taking her hand back. "What?"

"Nothing, nothing." He said, turning away to look at the TV, crossing his legs, and putting his hands in his lap as leaned back on the front of the couch, chewing on the slice she'd given him. "Just didn't expect you to be the type to play games. You always seemed more into the ninjas of love book series, animal rights like the protest the other week, and that kind of stuff is all. I think It's pretty cool that you play games too."

Blake blinked at him. What had he just said? "Hey, Jaune." She tapped his head with her foot drawing his attention from the movie. "What did you just say?"

He looked at her curiously and reached up, grabbing the slice from his mouth. "What? About playing games?"

She shook her head. "No. Before that."

He looked at her curiously. "The world of Remnant?"

She rolled her eyes and tapped his head with her foot again. "No, the part right before the last thing you said."

He scratched his head where she'd tapped him, making an expression that said he was actually thinking on it. She was about to sigh and forget about it when he spoke. "You mean the things you like? Like Ninjas of love and the animal rights stuff?" She looked at him, curiously and nodded. He let out a breath feeling confused. "What about them?"

She opened her mouth to ask if he was stalking her, but that was definitely not the cool thing to do. He'd never done anything like that before. She closed her mouth, deciding how to word her question. "How… do you know I like those things? We barely talk, and we may be friends of friends, but this is probably the first time we've hung out."

He looked at her with an amused smile. "Well, you have mentioned them in passing. Like when I eat at the pizzeria or when we talk when you deliver."

She looked at him, stunned. "And you remembered?"

He shrugged, turning back to the TV. "Yeah, I guess. I mean. You are pretty unique, and we are friends, right? I try to pay attention to the little things. It makes me seem kinda paranoid, or so my family says." With that, he took another bite of his slice while reaching for the glasses of wine and offering her one.

She took it gingerly and took a sip, all the while watching her blond-haired childhood friend. How could he remember things in passing that she didn't even remember saying yet he forgot about her?! It kind of sort of rubbed her the wrong way, but it was strangely flattering and sweet that he'd paid enough attention to their conversations. She felt heat creep up her cheeks and shook her head, focusing on the movie. She kicked his head for good measure getting an annoyed glance from him that she returned with a smug smile while telling herself it was the alcohol making her feel warm.

~ 0 ~

They finished watching the movie as well as several others while downing the alcohol and the pot of tea. The two had laughed and poked fun at each other and generally just enjoyed each other's company completely losing track of time. They both eventually saw the clock and cracked a joke, each about how late it was with Blake's being about work and Jaune's being about her missing her period, which had made her flush and kick his head again, pushing him onto his face while he just roared with laughter.

Blake tried to get up from the couch, but her foot caught the edge of the cushion, and with her alcohol addled mind, she tripped. She yelped and grabbed at Jaune, who'd just stumbled to his feet and was swaying himself. Her hands gripped his long-sleeve tightly, and she pulled him back down with her. They both fell over, leaning against each other laughing. They stumble back up, trying to get to the hall when Blake poked his cheek. "Hey, Jaune."

"Hmm?"

"You're a pretty cool guy. You know that?"

He shrugged. "I'm surprised you're single. You should go out more."

He laughed at that wrapping an arm around her shoulders, looking at her with a cheese-eating grin. "Why? I've got my girlfriend right here."

Blake stopped suddenly at his words, causing them to trip, and they both fell. She yelled in surprise, but she was held tightly as they crashed to the floor, her landing on top of him. She gripped Jaune's shirt tightly and looked up at him, her heart beating faster than normal. "Um… Jaune. What do you mean by that?"

She felt his arms release her, and she hated herself for thinking it, but she wanted him to keep them there. It felt nice. He smiled down at her and poked her nose. "My pizza girls with me, and that's all I need to be happy."

She looked away from him, a blush on her cheeks. She looked back at him and rolled her eyes, flicking his forehead. "Jaune, you're a dork." Feeling her heart beating faster, she pushed off him and tried to get up bust just fell over on her side, giggling.

God, she was drunk. She felt something poke her side and heard Jaune whisper. "Pst. Blake." She turned her head on the soft carpet to see Jaune gently poking her side with a stupid grin on his face. He laughed softly. "You're drunk."

She kicked him weakly with a playful frown. "And who's fault is that? Mr. three bottles of wine."

He shrugged while laying there, watching her, and smiled. "Hey, it seemed like a good idea at the time. Besides, you drank too. Don't act like I forced you."

She scowled at him in mock anger, propping herself up against the wall and kicked his legs, making him roll over lazily with a weak, "Nooo, stop it," as he slapped her foot softly.

She laughed softly, feeling her eyelids getting heavy as she took a deep breath while looking at him. He acted like such a kid, but she found it amusing, and he was really a great guy. Hell, he'd even offered to help out at the Pizzeria a few times, and he regularly did on holidays. He even covered for her when she was sick, which he didn't have to do.  
He'd been a godsend for her. She didn't know why it had taken so long for them to hang out like this, but it felt nice. She smiled at him and closed her eyes, feeling sleep take her. "Thanks for being you… Jaune."

**~ 0 ~**

**Authors notes.**

**Not much to say other than enjoy the edit.**

**~ 0 ~**


	5. Chapter 5

Project Remnant

~ 0 ~

I do not own RWBY

~ 0 ~

"_Thoughts"_

"Speech"

'words with implied meaning.'

Regular text

**Menu info**

**"Disembodied voice."**

**"**_**Disembodied thoughts /Memories."**_

~ Ch 5 ~

~ Good mornings and unlikely coincidences ~

The soft tick of an analog clock was the first thing Blake heard when she woke up. "Mmm. Oh, my head." She rolled over in the soft sheets burying her throbbing head against the fresh forgiving sheet covering the pillow. She took a deep breath smiling softly at the smell of tuna and mozzarella cheese along with something that smelled suspiciously like salmon. Her mouth began to water, and she lifted her head, sniffing the aroma in the air._ "Wait. Food? I'm not cooking right now, and I live alone. I was at Jaune's last night too. How did id get home?"_

She sat up, pushing the sheets off and rubbed her eyes, feeling a pounding in her head. Opening her eyes with a squint, she looked around the room she was in, from her warm spot on the bed. It definitely wasn't her room.

She got a bad feeling wondering if she got picked up by someone on her way home last night. God, it was going to get awkward fast if that were the case. Her stomach curled when she realized what that might imply. She looked down at herself and saw herself fully clothed in what she'd worn yesterday but just to be safe. She sighed in relief when she slid her hand down her pants to feel nothing but dry cloth. _"Dodged a bullet there."_ She looked at the door with a frown. _"I just hope…"_

Her eyes closed, and she wracked her brain, trying to search her memory for what happened last night. Memories of hanging out with Jaune came to her, but the last thing she could recall was smiling at him while her eyes drifted shut. "I'm in a bed now, so maybe I never left. But if that's the case, did we sleep together?" She shook her head and winced while laughed airily, her head pounding slightly.

She had to remind herself it was Jaune she was thinking about. He wouldn't do anything like that. Sliding her legs off the bed, she leaned forward, holding her head with a sigh and stood up slowly. She opened her eyes and noticed the blinds in the room were closed, and even the light in the hall was off. She smiled. "Well, he definitely knows how to take care of someone with a hangover. Now, if only." Her eyes fell on the TV tray next to the bed she'd missed somehow. On top lay a small medicine cup with some aspirin, a glass of water, and a note.

She smiled warmly, and took the medicine, crunching it in her mouth before following it with the glass of water. She almost instantly felt the effects as it went right to her head via the blood vessels in the roof of her mouth. With a sigh of relief, she set the glass down and lifted the note.

**"**_**Sorry about the hangover, hope this helps. Come to the kitchen when you get up."**_

She smiled at the note and then placed it back on the tray as she got up and stretched. Her head protested to the sudden movement, and she winced while massaging her temple. "I guess I can't just have a magical hangover pill, huh." She let out a defeated sigh. With that, she moved to the doorway and followed that heavenly smell out of the room and into the kitchen.

When she turned the corner, she saw that the kitchen was lit with a dim pink light that sat above the dining table. Nicely enough, it didn't hurt her eyes. She smirked at it and turned to see Jaune there in front of his stove, holding a spatula with a bunch of spices next to him.

She folded her arms lazily under her breasts, holding in a giggle. Jaune was wearing his usual blue jeans and a black shirt but with a pink apron saying don't do anything to the cook. The back of his hair was tied in a short lazy ponytail with his bangs held to the side with a bobby pin. He was singing along to what sounded like an old song.

~ Take good care of my baby, by Bobby Vee ~

Jaune flipped something in the pan before sprinkling spices, the smell of which made her mouth water and lifted the spatula to his mouth with a melancholy yet happy expression on his face.

"My tears are fallin'  
Cause' you've taken her away  
And though it really hurts me so  
There's something that I've got to say"

He flipped the spatula back around and flipped the fish in the pan while swaying to the beat and shaking his head slowly. The smell of the spices and sizzle of the fish filling the air.

"Take good care of my baby  
Please don't ever make her blue  
Just tell her that you love her  
Make sure you're thinkin' of her  
In every thing you say and do."

Blake felt a big smile push it's way to her face as she started tapping a finger on her arm and nodded along to his rendition. He lowered the heat on the stove and lifted the pan, swirling the contents while sprinkling some more spices and throwing a bit of rosemary.

"Ah, take good care of my baby  
Now don't ever make her cry  
Just let your love surround her  
Paint rainbow all around her  
Don't let her see a cloudy sky."

It was almost too much. Blake leaned against the archway of the kitchen while getting lost in the music, and looked back too the table, seeing it set with two plates, napkins, silverware, and glasses. She rolled her eyes, feeling her smile broaden at the fact he was doing all this. He really was a special kind of friend to go through this much trouble.

"Once upon a time  
That little girl was mine  
If I'd been true  
I know she'd never be with you."

She looked back at him, a grin spreading across her face as she silently crept up behind him. When she was right behind him, she could clearly see him lost in his rendition of the old song.

"So take good care of my baby  
Be just as kind as you can be  
And if you should discover  
That you don't really love her  
Just send my baby back home to me."

She closed her eyes and shook her head. How had Jaune not been more popular in school? And where had all of this been when they were kids? She looked at the back of his head and smiled warmly.

"Ah, take good care of my baby  
Well, take good care of my baby  
Just take good care of my baby  
Oh, take good care of my baby."

As the song began to fade out Blake slowly wrapped her arms around Jaune's shoulder, pressing her body against his and hung off of him. "Good morning, Jaune. It smells amazing. What is it?"

He froze in her grip and looked over his shoulder, seeing her smile. "Uh, baby. I mean Bobby. I mean breakfast." He corrected himself several times with a shake of his head.

Blake looked at him, stunned, and then blinked. She looked down at the stove to avoid his gaze as she blushed and he felt her arms tighten around him as she got on her tiptoes and leaned over his shoulder "It looks good."

He grinned and moved the salmon around a bit as I sizzled on the pan. "Well, I hope it's to your standards. I don't usually cook, but anyway, morning KitKat."

Blake paused and turned from the food to look at Jaune, her expression becoming one of curiosity at what he'd said. "What did you call me?"

He laughed nervously and looked back at the pan, trying to focus on cooking. He flushed a little and spoke in a quiet tone. "You were making a purring noise last night when I set you up in the guest bedroom."

He felt her arms slide up to his neck. Her grip tightened further, making it hard for him to breath. He looked at her out of the corner of his eye and saw her blushing fiercely, her expression one of utter embarrassment. She buried her face in the nape of his neck with a groan. "Jaune, we never speak of this."  
He nodded as best he could while strangling out a yes ma'am.  
She nodded while still just hanging off of him, waiting for him to finish cooking when he patted her arm, drawing her attention. "Hmm?"

He coughed, forcing a smile to his face. "Alright. Blake, I need…to breath. Could you…let me go?"

Heat crept up her face as she realized exactly what she was doing and how she'd been there longer than necessary. With an embarrassed frown, she quickly let go and apologized to him while he rubbed his throat, giving her a nervous smile. "I'm so sorry, Jaune I wasn't trying to um. Well…Sorry?" She shrugged.

He laughed while taking in a big gulp of air, almost choking and worsening the problem. "It's alright, Blake. I thought it was kind of cute." She blinked at him curiously. "But in other news, KitKat, how did you sleep last night?" He asked, changing the subject while going back to cooking.

She looked down at her feet, feeling embarrassed at the comment about acting like a cat and being cute. With a shake of her head and the pounding almost completely gone, she let out a breath. "I slept pretty well, actually. Thanks, by the way."  
She stepped back and folded her arms across her chest while shooting a weak glare at him. "And don't call me KitKat."

"Uh, hehe my bad. Won't do it anymore. Arc's word." He said, giving a nervous chuckle while crossing his heart before he turned the stove off and grabbed a big plate sliding the food onto it. He glanced over his shoulder at her with a confused look. "Um, anyway, you're welcome, but what are you thanking me for?"

She gave him a confused look and gestured to the hall. "For carrying me to bed last night, not to mention actually letting me use one." She folded her arms, a frown on her face. "Some people don't offer the same courtesy." She grumbled, thinking of a particular blond boxer she was friends with and the sleepovers or study nights they had where she'd ended up on a couch or the floor.

She was pulled from her thoughts when Jaune walked by her, the food passing right by her nose, making her mouth water. "Don't mention it, Blake. You're a friend. I care about you. Not like I'm going to let you sleep where you pass out unless I pass out right next to you. Fair is fair, right?"

She smiled, appreciatively at him. She felt she could get behind that notion if someone sleeps on the floor, they all did. Misery loves company and all that. She watched him put the plate down on the table, and a question came to mind. "Hey, Jaune." He made a humming noise and nodded in her direction, letting her know he was listening. "Why did you cook breakfast for me? I could have just gotten something on the way home, you know."

He looked up at her confused and walked back to the sink to put the dirty dishes in it and then rested his hands next to him on the counter while leaning against it. He was fixing her with a contemplative expression while he thought about how to respond. He'd gotten up early and started cooking so that he could surprise her. They weren't very close as far as he understood, but he'd always felt like he knew her more than he did. It was funny, really, but she reminded him of someone he used to play with as a kid, but regardless she was still a friend in his mind even if she had started as just a friend of a friend through Ruby and Yang.

They never really talked much over the last three years they'd known each other, but they had a good relationship in his opinion. What with their short small talk when he ate at Blake's job. After the incident with Ruby and Yang had been when they first really spoke at length. She'd asked him what happened, and he'd told her — not feeling any reason to hide anything. He knew she was friends with them and had probably already been told the story so there wouldn't be any use in lying or withholding information. He'd even told her he understood Ruby and Yang's reactions in the heat of the moment. Hell, if one of his sisters came out of her room crying after he heard yelling, he'd have punched some guy out too.

It was after the apologies that things had confused him. The two of them had been ignoring him for the most part, and he had no idea why. Blake had agreed with his reasoning for the outburst on ruby's as well as Yang's part, but it confused her just as much as him. Or at least that's what she'd said in her words. "You apologized, right? You meant it, right? Then it's not your job to keep apologizing. Some things take time."

That had been almost five months ago. After that conversation and a continued cold shoulder from the two, Blake had started delivering directly to his place. He knew it was pretty far out of their delivery route, so he'd taken to tipping her generously. He didn't want pity, but her actions were very much appreciated. Especially after everyone else had kind of put him on the back burner. That wasn't saying they were mean or anything. They all just sort of drifted apart after that. Sun being the thing trying to keep all of their groups together funnily enough.

Ever since then, his and Blake's small talk had turned into short conversations and then longer ones. Over time he'd come to think of her as a true blue friend instead of just a friend of one. He'd even helped out at the pizzeria a couple of times and volunteered on the holidays when they got busy.

His cobalt blues met the warm amber of hers, and he smiled at her. "I guess you could call it a thank you for being you. Thanks, Blake."  
She blushed and looked away as he walked over to the table again, this time pulling out a chair and gestured for her to sit down.

She slowly moved over and took the seat, feeling funny. It was strange to think Jaune would thank her for such a small thing as being herself. She had to admit they'd been talking more too, but that was nothing compared to him. She'd started doing those things to make up for being a poor friend, which she didn't really have to, considering he didn't remember her, but then there he was. He'd tip her generously and even covered for her the few times when she got sick and couldn't make work. Honestly, he was a way better friend than she was. It made her feel off. She couldn't believe he thought this was the least he could do. All she did was make a ten-minute detour.  
As Blake settled down, he pushed her chair in. "Hey, Jaune. Why did you invite me in yesterday?"

He walked around the table to his seat. He remembered the note from Penny. It was far from the only reason and not even his best for asking her to come in. He'd wanted to hang out with someone after Sun couldn't make it, so he supposed he was feeling lonely. It had worked out well and turned into an entertaining night of watching movies, eating pizza, and getting drunk without being rowdy. Completely different from any of his past weekends over the last five or so months. That was for sure.

As he sat down, he looked up at Blake and leaned forward, resting his head on his hand. "Well, I guess you could say I wanted to spend time with you," He said warmly while gesturing to the food."

She wanted to ask him just what that meant, but her eyes went to the plate, and he grinned softly. "Well, Blake, pick what you want and how much. Consider it my real apology for the hangover."

She licked her lips and glanced back up at him with a hungry look, a bit of drool falling down the corner of her mouth. "Anything and as much as I want?" He just smiled brighter and nodded much to her chagrin. She looked down at the plate seeing tilapia, salmon, and tuna with four small sandwiches. Cubanos. He'd cooked her favorite guilty pleasures. Had she told him about them before? With his unexpected comments about her interests last night, it was highly likely. She started dragging the biggest pieces of fish and the bigger Cubano with cheese on to her plate and then glared up at him with a glint in her eyes. "Never tell anyone how much of a fatass I'm being right now." She said while brandishing a fork at him.  
He just nodded with that same warm smile that was making her feel all the more embarrassed while he took what was left digging in as she did the same with gusto.

~ 0 ~

They finished eating without any interruptions after that. Blake pushed her plate to the center of the table with a satisfied moan and lay down, humming happily while rubbing her stomach. "That was soooo good, Jaune. I didn't know you could cook." She turned her head to look at him and smiled. "You should invite me over more often." She said teasingly.

He flushed and let out a small laughed while getting up, taking both of their plates to the sink. "You think so? I'm flattered. I gotta ask though, is it just the food though?" He shot back with a grin.

She smirked right back and made a so so gesture with her hand. "Pizza, wine, hand made breakfast the morning after. You're going to spoil a girl Jaune." She sat up in her seat, leaning over the table lethargically while resting her head on her hand.

He rubbed the back of his head in that nervous tick that made her wanna slap his hand again, but she smiled while shaking her head and let it go. Looking back at him, she let out a content sigh. "Hey, Jaune."

"Mm-hmm?" He said while washing their dishes.

She paused for a second, admiring his ethics to clean right after eating. She was genuinely confused about how some girl hadn't swooped in and taken him yet. If she was being honest, he was a great friend. Was there when it counted and didn't overstep boundaries. Though at times he could be a little dense or insensitive, he meant well. That, along with his grades, habits, and potential prospects in life, he was a steal. Didn't hurt that he was well off by himself and had a nice figure. Nothing surprising, but respectable.

Pushing the thoughts from her mind, she started tracing the rim of her glass while watching him. "You know I have the day off today." He paused for a second and then kept washing, letting her go on. "So, I was wondering if you'd like to hang out for the day today." She sat still, waiting for a response.

He put the last dish away on the drying rack and dried his hands before facing her. He had a contemplative look on his face, but it quickly changed into a smile, and he nodded. "Sure. It sounds like fun Blake. What did you have in mind we do though?" He added nervously.

She grinned internally at having gotten his consent. She hadn't done much as a real friend for him, not compared to what he did, so she figured yesterday was a turning point. Now, what would he be interested in doing? A protest or reading in the library didn't fit him, and she hated to admit it, but she honestly didn't pay much attention to their conversations over the last few months. Then it hit her.

"Hey Jaune, remember that game we were talking about yesterday?" He nodded. "Well, I play it too, and I was wondering how you'd feel about spending the day together playing it?" He scratched his head, another look of debate crossing his features. She didn't want to let this opportunity slip through her fingers, so she pushed him a bit. "Come on. It'll be fun." He let out a sigh and smiled at her. She knew she'd won. Standing up, she smiled softly and moved over to his counter, where a notepad and a pen were. She wrote down her address and tore the page out then handed it to him. "Alright then, e-mail me when you get on, and we'll meet up."

He took the slip with a smile, and she nodded at him turning to leave the kitchen. "I guess I should get going then. Don't wanna waste any time, right?"

He followed her out and down the hall. "Yeah, I guess. I mean, the sooner you go, the sooner we meet up in-game." He sighed. "But the sooner you leave, the sooner you're gone."

She grabbed her coat and pulled it on, giving him a weird look. "What does that mean? It sounds kinda redundant." She frowned, seeing his expression fall a bit.

He shrugged and put the slip with her address in his pocket and leaned against the wall. "It's nothing. Just saying I enjoyed having you over, and once you walk out the door, it's over." He smiled sheepishly and laughed. "God, that makes me sound like a needy kid." He rubbed his forehead and took a deep breath. "Forget that last part, let's just say I liked having you around, and before you comment about us playing a game later together, it's not the same."

Blake closed her mouth, having been about to say just that. She cleared her throat, feeling warm at his comment about liking the time they spent together and pulled her hair out the back of her coat, letting it hang freely. She fixed her clothes and checked herself in the mirror by his front door. Now Blake was a natural beauty not needing any makeup to look good save for her regular use of eyeliner. She only ever used a small amount of mascara and eyeshadow on occasion.  
While fixing herself up, she saw Jaune watching her in the reflection in the mirror and paused. "Is there something wrong, Jaune?" She turned to see him still watching her. She opened her mouth to say something else, but he beat her to it.

"Beautiful."

Just one world. Nothing else. No sexual tension, no flirting, just a simple warm, beautiful. It made Blake feel self-conscious but in a pleasant way. She shifted her weight from one foot to the other and looked away from him as a flush spread across her cheeks. She said something under her breath he couldn't hear, and he moved closer to hear her. To his surprise, she punched his arm. "Save it for your girlfriend, blonde." Her comment reminded her of what he'd said last night while they were drunk, which just made her blush harder. She quickly slipped her heels on and then slipped out the door with a wave and a nervous smile. "I'll be waiting, Jaune."  
All he could do was blink and give a short wave as she disappeared.

~ 0 ~

Blake made her way out of the building into the crisp winter morning air patting her cheeks. "Come on, girl, get over it. It's not anything special. We just hang out yesterday afternoon and evening. Yeah, and you spent the night too. He also made you breakfast as a thank you just for being you and ARG! Stop it! Why are you doing this to yourself?" She stopped at her car and let her head bang against the side of it, giving an annoyed groan before getting in and starting it up.

~ 0 ~

Jaune stood there for a whole minute, trying to decide what just happened. With a final shrug and still clueless, he headed to his room, loaded up the game on his computer, put on the AVRH, and lied down as the feeling of weightlessness washed over him.

~ 0 ~

His eyes opened, and a yawn escaped his mouth as he sat up from the bed in the upstairs portion of the Emerald Dragon. Surprisingly he felt amazing. His body didn't ache; the dry throat and stomach pains were gone as well. "Man, amazing what some food, water, and a little sleep can do."

About five seconds later, he smacked himself in the face with a groan. "I can't believe I said that. It's like saying. Oh my god, I hit every green light and didn't have any troubles while going the speed limit." Feeling rather stupid, he got out of the bed and looked around, his eyes landing on the table he'd eaten on yesterday. Lying on top of it was his equipment stacked neatly with a note lying in front. He walked over to the table and picked up the note, a text box popping up in front of it

**"**_**Thank you again, and we hope it serves you well. Come back and let us know how it works for you. The total is around 200 million. Please try not to break it any time soon."**_

He smiled down at the note feeling good about having something he'd worked for. Granted, the money was gotten pretty easily, but hey, he'd hoarded those throwaway items in beta. Not his fault they became important. He could do as he saw fit with them. Putting the note down, he equipped his new upgraded gear and checked his stats.

~ 0 ~

**Character name: Crocea Morse**

**Level: 75**

**EXP: 8,115,260**

**Next level: 33,585**

~ 0 ~

"What? Why are my experience points at like 50 percent of what they were yesterday? I could have leveled up so much with those points like 20 levels!" He scowled, wondering what was up as he kept reading.

~ 0 ~

**Title: Unblessed **  
**When not in a party, or if debuffs are active, gain 100% recovery rate to SP, AP, MP.**  
**When Partying with one person, gain 50% recovery rate to SP, AP, MP. (NEW!)**

**Class: **  
**False Hero: Intrepid blade (New!)**

**Acrobatic Skill:**

**Side kick: (NEW!)**

**Visceral Metronome: (NEW!)**

**Abilities:**

**Dexterity 100+**

**Hands of an artisan: Passive (NEW!)**

**Agility 100+**

**Adept: Passive**

**Evasion 100+**

**Artful Dodger: Passive and Active**

**Resilience 100+**

**Fear of the blood: Active**

**Resilience 200+**

**Fear of the flesh: Active**

**Combos:**

**For the damaged coda: (NEW!)**  
**Promise Reprisal, Canceled Reprieve, Coda**

**Combo starter:**

**Promise Reprisal: (NEW!)**

**Combo booster:**

**Canceled Reprieve: (NEW!)**

**Combo finisher:**

**Coda: (NEW!)**

**Stats:**

**HP: 7500/7500 +50% = 11250/11250 (NEW!)**

**SP: 12862/12862 +50% = 19293/19293 (NEW!)**  
**RR 190% of DEX every 10 second **  
**(42 per sec)**

**AP: 8455/8455 +50% = 12682/12682 (NEW!)**  
**RR 120% of AGIL every 10 seconds **  
**(26 per sec)**

**Phys DEF: 1083/1083 +120% = 1624/1625 (New!)**

**Character Durability: 15000/15000 +100% = 30000/30000 (NEW!)**  
**RR 300% of Resilience Every 10 second **  
**(84 per sec)**

**Traits:**

**Dexterity: 160 +40% = 224 (NEW!)**

**Agility: 160 +40% = 224 (NEW!)**

**Evasion: 160 +40% = 224 (NEW!)**

**Wisdom: 55 +40% = 77 (NEW!)**

**Resilience: 200 +40% = 280 (NEW!)**

**Available trait points: 425 (NEW!)**

**Accessories:**

**Necklace: Pendant of the Unblessed**  
**Level 2**  
**EXP 0/100 (51% accumulated)**

**Effects:**  
**Trait Thresholds gift additional abilities (NEW!)**

**Armor:**

**Chest plate: Pendragon Cuirass (NEW!)**  
**Arms: Pendragon set (NEW!)**  
**Waist: Pendragon Tassets (NEW!)**  
**Legs: Pendragon set (NEW!)**  
**Clothes: Pendragon Royal coat (NEW!)**

~ 0 ~

His eyes grew wider and wider as he went down the page, and a small, confident smile spread across his face. Scrolling back up to his traits, he eyed the up arrow next to them. "Hmm. I think I remember what kind of character I was building now." He looked to his trait points and noticed that he'd gotten 50 from somewhere. About five minutes later, this is what he had, and he received a few notifications too.

~ 0 ~

**Dexterity: 250 +40% = 350 (NEW!)**  
**DEX above 200 points, ability unlocked!**  
**DEX above 300 points, ability unlocked!**

**Agility: 250 +40% = 350 (NEW!)**  
**AGIL above 200 points, ability unlocked!**  
**AGIL above 300 points, ability unlocked!**

**Evasion: 300 +40% = 420 (NEW!)**  
**EVAS above 200 points, ability unlocked!**  
**EVAS above 300 points, ability unlocked!**  
**EVAS above 400 points, ability unlocked!**

**Resilience: 285 +40% = 399 (NEW!)**  
**RES above 300 points, ability unlocked!**

**Available trait points: 0 (NEW!)**

~ 0 ~

His finger paused above the tab reading abilities. "I'll just read that later. Not like I'm leaving town yet." He looked at his side and frowned. He reached down, gripping empty air and sighed, remembering his broken weapons. Wherever they were, they wouldn't be usable. Turning to the door to the room, he exited and headed down the steps into the main shop. "Hey! Anyone home?" There was no reply. With a small smile, he returned to the room and left the money in the exact amount of 200 million gold with a note before he headed out.

Stepping out into the plaza, he was greeted by the sight of a pretty big crowd still outside the auction house. Though the noise was nowhere near as loud as yesterday, the crowd was definitely more prominent. He rubbed the side of his neck with a grimace. "So sorry, guys." He clapped his hands together. "Hope things aren't going to roughly for you."

After his short moment of apology, he opened his messaging tab and input Blake's address shooting off a quick message to her. He wasn't expecting an immediate response. She'd probably have a few things to do when she got home, so, for now, it was the waiting game, and he had a weapon to get.  
After a few minutes of looking around the market trying to spot a weapons stand or shop, he couldn't find one. With a heavy sigh, he turned to the road leading out of the plaza. "Well, I guess I gotta find a shop."

~ 0 ~

After almost an hour of walking and asking around about any good weapons shops, he'd turned up diddly squat. The lower level people just told him he should get one every ten levels, most likely due to them being in the Vale faction and benefiting from its affiliation rewards. The higher-level people, on the other hand, told him to go to 'The Holy Palace' and get one from the Hunters guild. Sound advice from veterans, no doubt. The only problem was that when he tried getting into the palace, he'd been turned away by a jackass with a power complex.

The guy had told him he needed proof that he reached his level legitimately and wasn't boosted or power leveled. The guy also said he needed a referral from someone in the guild. Asking the guy how he'd go about getting that stuff had earned him nothing but a scoff and a shove along with the words, "Atlas trash, trying to sneak in. Fuck off."

Not knowing what the guy meant or what proof he needed or even knowing how to go about getting it or even a referral, he just wandered around Vale aimlessly. Not long after that, he found himself on the end of a bridge spanning a vast waterway overlooking the center of town. "Damn it. I don't have a sword, a shield, or anything." He pulled up his inventory and sighed at the 300,000,000 gold sitting there as he half lay half hung over the edge of the bridge's rail. "Damn…"

"Hey, please stop."

He blinked at hearing the voice call out from somewhere nearby. It was quiet and feminine with a decidedly Aussie accent. He looked around, trying to see where it was coming from.

"No Please stop. I already gave you and your friends free stuff. I was trying to be nice. You can't just."

"Awe, come on girl. Just lend us some more. It's not like it matters to you. You can just make more, right?"

Jaune quirked a brow at that. He leaned further over the rail, trying to find the people speaking but no luck. He listened harder and could hear two other people muffling their laughter.

"Yes, I can make more, but."

"See. Why don't you help us out then? Someone came up and PKed us and took everything you gave us. We're friends, right? Just lend us another set each. We'll make it up to you."

He heard scuffling and then a cry of pain as one of the guys shouted about her having a mean kick. "Fucking bitch, why did you do that! I swear I'm."

"Let me go I don't owe you anything! Now leave me alone!"

He felt something under him shake, and a crash resounded under the bridge that drew the attention of a few people. His eyes widened, and he grabbed the rail leaning so far over the ledge he could see under the bridge. His coattails fell around him as well as his hood, obscuring his vision. He heard more arguing but couldn't make out what was being said. He let go of the rail with one hand to move the cloth out of his face and way from his head, but at that exact moment, a shrill scream pierced the air surprising him, and he lost his grip with his other hand and fell off the bridge.

It was strange. Jaune felt like he should have had a hard, unforgiving landing with his head hitting the cobbled stone first, but something came over him, and he reached out, palming the ground as he made contact. His arm bent, absorbing the impact and then gave gracefully as he fell forward into a roll and sprang up onto his feet, coming to a stop right next to a group of four people.

There was a collective shriek, and the clattering of cheap metal as the three guys in the group fell back and stumbled over each other upon seeing him. He blinked a few times and looked from the three guys to the girl he'd heard and then back to the guys. His eyes widened, and he clenched his fists. It was Cardin, Dove, and Russel. He was willing to overlook their attitude in the field as playing the game, but this was a town. A town with a no-conflict rule, and guards to stop fighting and extortion. Yet here they were, bullying a girl and trying to extort her seemed like.

He fought the anger down and put on a happy smile while walking closer to the group. "Hi," He said with a wave. The three jackasses took one collective terrified look at him and dipped out of there faster than he'd seen any of them run a football back at Beacon. He stood there, feeling a little dumbstruck, and his forced smile became a real one as a light, airy feeling coursed through him. He started laughing and almost fell over due to the force. "I-I can't, haha, can't believe they just ra...hahaha...ran off like that. Hahahaha!" It was a different feeling, and he didn't know where it came from, but it was nice seeing them run from him like that. He hadn't even done anything.

"Um, excuse me?" A timid voice broke through his euphoric haze bringing him back to earth. Still holding his gut, he took a deep breath and turned to face the girl. He blinked at her in confusion upon really taking in her appearance. She was wearing black leggings covered by a pair of brown short shorts that had a tool belt strapped to one side and a tight black long-sleeved shirt with a brown vest on top. She had steel-toed leather boots in a dark brown color with a pair of thick oversized leather gloves on her hands.  
On her head sat a pair of goggles that just fit. What was behind the goggles drew his attention, though. The two chocolate brown bunny ears sticking out the top of her similarly colored hair were moving and twitching slightly as if they actually worked.

He stared for a good half a minute, admiring the graphics when the clearing of a throat met his ears. Shaking his head in embarrassment, he looked back at the girl's face and saw her blushing while poking her fingers together nervously. "Um. I uh, well. Um, ah. Th-thank-thank you."

He blinked at her, tilting his head. Why was she thanking him? "For what? He looked down the alley after Cardin seeing him and his cronies turn a corner and then back at her when they were out of sight. "All I did as fall in from up there and say hi," He said while pointing up.

The girl looked up to the bridge above them and then back at him, smiling weakly while scratching her cheek. "Well, thank you for dropping in then."

He was about to say something when his eyes fell, and he looked dead into her eyes. "Was that a pun?"

The girl rubbed her arms nervously and nodded with a small smile. "Um. Well. I thought it was kinda funny," She said, folding her arms behind her back with a light giggle. He gave an amused sigh and shook his head good-naturedly. He couldn't fault her. He was the one who'd dropped in, figuratively and literally.

Looking back at her, he fixed his posture putting a hand on his hip. "So anyway, Are you alright? I didn't catch what was going on, but I could guess pretty close if I had to." He folded his arms and waited for a reply. She stood there looking like a nervous rabbit, the irony of which was not lost on him. She eventually nodded and then looked at him with a surprised look or realization.

"Um, hey. You wouldn't happen to be Crocea Mors, would you?"

He looked at her, surprised. How did she know his name? He hadn't seen her target him and nobody had mentioned it. "Uh, yeah. I am. Why?"

She beamed at him and jumped up, shouting. "Yes!"

He had no idea what she was so excited about but whatever. "Hey, what's got you all excited?" He looked down at himself. There was nothing special or wrong with him, and he didn't think he'd done anything note…worthy. "Hey, um…"

"Scarlet." She supplied happily.

He nodded. "Well, Scarlet, how do you know who I am, and why are you so excited?"

She paused and tapped her bottom lip as if looking for the right words to explain. "Hmm. Well, I guess the short story is you're a hot topic on the community forums right now, but if you want the long version, I'd prefer if we headed to my shop first." She started walking off and looked over her shoulder at him, gesturing for him to follow.

He quickly walked over with an intrigued look. He'd heard Cardin and them asking her for gear and gear included weapons, or at least he hoped so. "Hey, Scarlet, You wouldn't happen to sell weapons, would you?"

She looked at him, giving a small nod. "Yeah. I think I own the only weapons shop that isn't in 'The Holy Palace' here in Vale. All the good craftsmen and shops join the hunters guild and set up in there. It kinda sucks for newbies cause it makes it difficult for them to get the proper gear they need." She tapped her bottom lip and looked up contemplatively. "Though I guess they use this kingdom's affiliation rewards as a reason for doing so. Some political crap about kingdom wars and stronger people need better stuff and other bloody bullshit."  
She gasped and covered her mouth, looking at him nervously. "Excuse my language."

He just looked at her with the most severe expression he could and patted her shoulder while giving her a nod. "It's bullshit. Don't worry."

The two stood there quietly and slowly but surely scattered chuckles and eventually full on laughter rang in the air around the two.

~ 0 ~

After getting to her shop, Scarlet closed the door and locked it putting a closed sign in the window. He watched her do so before his gaze slowly panned around the shop. He saw weapons and armor of all kinds taking up every bit of space imaginable. There were even things hanging from the ceiling. "Wow."

"Sorry about the clutter, but I can't exactly afford a bigger shop at the moment. Not enough clientele. Even harder when I give things away to new players that I feel bad for." She let out a defeated sigh and leaned on her counter next to a till, her expression falling before it brightened right back up and smiled at him. "But hey, I like to support new people. Even if this game is about PVPing, I still think there's plenty of fun to be had in the world."

She turned around and looked at a few weapons and armor in cases behind the counter. "This game used to be so much fun when I'd play with my friends, but then the kingdom wars started getting really serious, and it got a lot harder for new people to play. My friends and I started pretty early, though, so we had a good thing going at first."

She sighed and leaned back on the counter, her shoulders falling. "We made a guild that would help support new players and people who got PKed and lost all of their gear. It was great for a couple of months, but…" She turned to face him and shrugged with a sad smile. "My friends decided to join the Hunters guild and left. Our guild is just barely making it now. We've only got a few members, and bills are getting pretty high. A lot of the new members just take stuff and never come back too."

He gave her a sympathetic look and glanced back over the shop. Just looking, he could see better equipment than what he'd had before he upgraded it. Facing her again, he smiled, giving her a warm expression. "Well, don't give up. No doubt, there are people out there who need the help of your guild."

She nodded with a confident look. "You better believe I'm not giving up. The person who came up with the idea would never forgive me if I just let the guild die." She calmed down, taking a deep breath. "Well anyway, sorry for rambling like that it just."

He held up a hand. "Don't worry about it. I admire the character you have. I like how you're trying to be a source of good instead of just making equipment for the money."  
She sniffed, making her nose wiggle cutely and then tilted her head beaming at him. "So, Scarlet, what are people saying about me on the forums?"

She clapped her hands together and pulled open her menu, hitting the forum tab. "Well, it's a lot of speculation mostly, but there are pictures and screenshots of you. Most of them have to do with The Ether of Naught in the cathedral and the new event that started last night." He looked at her curiously. "You see, this event started saying the grimm will spawn more frequently and in larger numbers because a seal has been broken. It has to do with the lore in the game. You can look at the forum or official website for more info. The forums mention you by name, though, and say it has something to do with what happened in the cathedral. Over fifty witnesses were saying crazy stuff too."

He folded his arms, thinking about what his being in the cathedral and that thing with the Ether or Carnage, whatever it was had done. He hadn't gotten any notifications of an event or anything like that. He hadn't even gotten another secret quest from the pendant yet either. "What are the event details?"

She looked back at her menu and hit another tab but then looked back at him in confusion. "Wait. Why am I doing all this? Aren't you an NPC? I mean you are Crocea Mors, you even said so. You must be an A.I. then if you know what the forums are and about the website. Are you an event character?"

Jaune felt his jaw twitch. Why did everyone think he was an NPC or an A.I? He was sure he acted like an average person. Hell, the Rens had even treated him normally. Thinking about it, he remembered when he wrote his character name down for Holy. She'd asked if he was serious, more or less. The voices of Dove and the people at the cathedral ran through his head too._**"He looks like him, the guy on the case."**_

Looking at Scarlet, he shook his head. "No, I'm not an NPC or an A.I. People keep calling me that, no idea why." The pendant didn't detail anything about making him more like an NPC, only that he'd feel everything more, and the game would be more realistic, survival mode as the pendant named it. "I won't say I don't have anything to do with the event though I'm pretty sure I triggered it, an event or something."

She nodded and then looked back at her menu. "Well, if that's true, then I hope you figure out what's going on. A bunch of people will be looking for you or hunting you in the fields once word spreads. Special characters drop very rare loot on death and even teach special skills, so you'll need to be careful." He blanched at that, his thoughts quickly drifting to his inventory. He needed to find a bank or get a player home to store his SDCs. They couldn't be taken on death, but you could still see them in his inventory.

Scarlet scanned the page on her menu and then stopped. "Ah, right here."

**EVENT!**

**Event name: The beginning of the endgame**

**Event lore:**  
**In the beginning, there was a vast expanse, The Ether of Naught. In this Ether, lay the abyss. Not evil nor malicious. The brothers, entities of unknown origin, found the Ether and saw that it was malleable. From it, they created many things, revealing our world; its name lost to history.**

**The brothers ruled over this world and claimed it as their own, but the Abyss stirred. The brothers gazed upon It, and unknowing of its nature flinched when It gazed back.**

**They had taken what was not theirs to take. This was not how things were meant to be. The Abyss cried out and came to lay deep within our world.**

**The brothers fearful of this new entity did what they could to subdue it and keep it at bay. But the world was not theirs, and The Abyss would not bend knee.**

**Those born of the Abyss could feel the draw of its power. It's soft, gentle call. And so they dug down into the world.**

**As humanity dug deeper to reach the Abyss, to find what called them, they found a world anew, twisted and treacherous. Creatures and monsters born of nightmares spawned from the dark recesses of their tunnels and valleys, things that not aught not exist. Many souls were lost. But from deep in the Abyss would a champion crawl, clinging to life as though a priceless artifact. Driven mad by their loss but with a single tale. Whispers of a reverent place, calm and forgiving. Of a dark beach with an eternal moon on the water's edge. Of grand structures and a palace of smooth white marble. What lay at the bottom of the Abyss. A paradise for those who walked through hell itself.**

**Proof of such a tale lay in the tomes of 1000. Grimoires, detailing the champions descent into madness.**

**Those who worshiped the brothers left in droves, and day by day, the stories grew. The brothers would not stand for this. This was their world, their creations. They would give nothing up and brought the flames of war to humanity. **  
**Many were lost either to the treacherous journey to the shores of The Abyss or war.**

**In the Abyss, the truth was learned. Weapons were created that could fell the gods; humanity had hope.**

**But alas, they were all of them deceived. The Abyss was not a place meant for those who held humanity. Humanity must be lost. To lose was to find. To find in the Abyss, was to court madness. After all. Humanity was not born of the Abyss. We are a wretched thing, a blemish on its calm, forgiving shores. Some could cast off their ties to this world. They are the inheritors of the Abyss. They are the bane of Gods. They meant to sever the strings that bound all to this world, and it's creators. But alas, the price of freedom is steep.**

**One by one, the free lands fell to the power of the Abyss, but there were some...who resisted. A last alliance of Man, Faunus, Elf, and all manner of creature that refused to go gently into that good night; marched against the armies of the Abyss. And on the precipice, they fought for the freedom of all humanity. The world is changed now, I feel it in the water, I feel it in the earth, I smell it in the air. Much that once was is lost, for none now live who remember it. The once proud civilizations that occupied this world are now nothing but remnants of great accomplishments.**

**Though the Abyss still calls, it's cries fall on deaf ears. It lies in wait for those brave enough to champion the depths of this world; to embrace them at the end of their journey.**

**The brothers, fearful of what lay in the Abyss, have striven to safeguard their creation from that which would reclaim them. Those blessed by the gods are what remains in this world. Heroes, they are called.**  
**...Or so say the records found in the fifth kingdom.**

**Though not all is lost, one so lucky as to be unblessed may tread where those blessed cannot.**

Jaune blinked a few times, trying to picture a story to go with the lore, but it was pretty tricky. "Wow. I had no idea the game had a backstory like that. I thought it was just the kingdoms and the war that happened in beta." He looked down at the floor in concentration. The bit at the end though about the fifth kingdom and unblessed.

He looked up at Scarlet, and she blinked at him, offering a shrug. "It's a surprise to most of the player base as well. I don't know much because I just started back then, but apparently, there was an event at the end of the first month that let you explore the fifth kingdom. Screenshots, and what videos you can still find, showed it as more or less a ruined civilization. I think there was a guild called the Gallows that found the books detailing the lore. They changed their guild name to Gods Bane after that. They're pretty famous."

_**She then turned to look at the woman. "And you are the representative from the guild Gods Bane correct."**_

The memory ran through his head. "Did I…" He shook his head. "No, ignore that," He said, waving a hand. "What are the details on the event itself?"  
Scarlet made an oh face and went back to the menu tab to continue reading.

**Event details:**

**Something is wrong in the world. The grimm are spawning at a higher rate and in larger quantities.**

**Bosses will now spawn in fields regularly.**  
**Minibosses will spawn where lieutenants spawned.**  
**All classifications of grimm spawn in random groups now.**  
**Loot drops have increased by 100%**  
**EXP drops have increased by 100%**  
**Enemy tactics have changed, New movesets for all grimm.**  
**All grimm have become stronger and now have 100% more HP.**  
**All grimm have become ferocious and will follow players until killed or lost by breaking line of sight for one minute.**

**Tasks:**

**Get last hit on elder grimm**  
**2) Find and kill an elder grimm**  
**3) Get last hit on 1 tier five grimm**  
**4) Kill 10 tier five grimm**  
**5) Get last hit on 10 tier four grimm**  
**6) Kill 50 tier four grimm**  
**7) Get last hit on 50 tier three grimm**  
**8) Kill 500 tier three grimm**  
**9) Get last hit on 500 tier two grimm**  
**10) Kill 2,000 tier two grimm**  
**11) Get last hit on 1,000 tier one grimm**  
**12) Kill 10,000 tier one grimm**

**Rewards:**

**? - complete all tasks**  
**1) Unblessed title**  
**2) Character Respec**  
**3) Avatar changer **  
**4) Character rename **  
**5) Special level 300 mount **  
**6) Necklace voucher**  
**7) Ring voucher **  
**8) Clothes voucher **  
**9) Armor voucher **  
**10) Weapon voucher **  
**11) Mount voucher **  
**12) Airship VIP**

**Event run time: -00:00:00**  
**Event will run until secret event quest is completed.**

**Event Quest:**

**Quest name: The Abyss**

**Objective: **  
**Find the Abyss**  
**No one knows where it is located. You must search all over the world of Remnant to even have a hope of finding it.**

**Time limit: none**

**Penalty: **  
**Grimm will continue to spawn until humanity is overrun**  
**Next spawn 13 hrs**  
**Grimm incursion in 1 D 13 hrs**

**Completion: Enter the Abyss**

Scarlet winced at the last bit. "You can't be serious. What about all the low-level players and newbies? Ohhh…" She closed her menu and slid to the counter miserably. "And just when things looked like they were sorting out." She gave a long boisterous sigh as she hung over the counter.

Jaune didn't know how to react, so he just watched her until she got up and gave him an apologetic smile. "My bad, it's just, well." She glared at him for a second and then buried her face in her hands. "I can't blame you even though this probably started because of something you did. Nobody knows what triggered it."

He shrugged sheepishly, offering a weak smile. "Sorry."

She screamed into her hands and then took a deep breath and stepped back, leaning against one of the cases behind her while watching him. "Alright, so I guess I told you what you wanted to know, right?" He nodded. "And I'm guessing you need a weapon seeing as you don't have one and asked me about them." He nodded again. "Well then, look around. I'm closed right now, but I'll make an exception because you helped me out earlier."

He grinned at her. "Thanks, I'll just be a minute. But um ah. Where do you keep your straight swords and such?" She gave him an exasperated look and rolled her eyes while pointing to a sign hanging from the ceiling. He turned and looked then laughed nervously while pointing at it. "Oh, yeah. Well um… I'm just going to, yeah."

~ 0 ~

After looking around for a bit, Jaune found a sword that he liked purely for aesthetics. It looked to be made out of a blue crystal, and when he held it, blue bubbles emanated from the edge along with a cold frosty mist. He grinned, feeling like a kid who just found a cool new toy and took a swing.  
To his horror, he hit a barrel with a few broken swords in it, spilling them everywhere around him.

He quickly got on his knees, lifting the barrel and started putting them back when Scarlet's voice called from the back where she'd slipped off to. "Hey. Is everything okay over there? I heard a loud crash. Did you break something?"

He laughed nervously and called back. "No, I just tripped and knocked a barrel over that had some scrap in it." He didn't hear a response, but the sound of her boots tapping drew nearer. He grabbed the hilt of the last blade and lifted it, but it hit the shelf next to him. He blinked and looked down at it, seeing the blade under the shelf next to him.  
He pulled it out while still kneeling and turned it over in his hands, inspecting it.

This one wasn't broken. It was a more or less simple design. The blade was longer than his silver sword had been, but it was still a one-handed sword. The entire blade was made of a dark iron colored material that had a red tinge to it. The peen Block was a simple small, and round thing. The pommel was shaped like a cylinder with a cone-shaped hilt that was covered in black leather that wound up to the guard, which was a simple rectangular piece of metal. The blade was made of a solid piece with a fuller that went about 16 inches up the blade before stopping and almost meeting the ridge. The last few inches then tapered into a decent point that wasn't exactly wide but certainly wasn't narrow. It resembled a regular straight sword.

He couldn't put his finger on it, but he liked it a lot. He tried swinging it a couple of times, and it felt great. Better than his silver sword had been. "Hey, Scarlet, how mu."

"Give me that!"

He was taken off guard and whirled around only to have the blade snatched from his grip by a wide-eyed Scarlet. She was inspecting the blade and muttering to herself about something, saying words like empty and nothing and if only. He took a step back and watched her curiously. "Um. Is everything okay?"

She froze, her body going a bit stiff, and then she looked at him while clutching the sword to her chest. "Yeah. Everything is fine. Why wouldn't it be?" The look he gave made her sigh, and she walked back to the front of the shop gesturing for him to follow. When they got to the counter, she placed the sword down and looked at him. "Sorry about that. It's just. The sword isn't for sale, and it's…"

"Special?" He offered.

She shook her head and ran a hand over it. "No, nothing like that. At least not personally. It's… unique. It also has a passive ability on it that's detrimental to the wielder. Sorry again."

Jaune hummed while looking at the sword. "What's so special about it, and whats the ability that's detrimental to on it?" He looked back at her, actually curious. He'd never heard of an ability that was bad for someone. Yeah, some games had drawbacks for powerful equipment, but it couldn't be that bad, could it? I mean, it's a nice sword to. I like the way it looks a lot. "I'd really like to buy it." He said while holding her gaze.

She shuffled from one foot to the other while tapping her fingers against each other. "Well, you see, it's not actually finished yet." She looked down at it appreciatively and gently lifted it. "It's the first weapon that I ever made, but I just can't seem to make anything out of it. I don't know if you know this because not many players that aren't craftsmen do but weapons and armor level up too."

He gave her a surprised look to which she smiled at him and continued. "You see, items and equipment can be upgraded and repaired as everyone knows. What's not known anywhere near as much is that equipment can be leveled up. You see, when anything breaks, it has to be upgraded to repair it, right?" He nodded. "Well, you can break any piece of equipment and put items into upgrading it. Most artisans don't even know this next part because there aren't any indicators for it. You can put more than one item on them and buff them repeatedly. Raising their stats and giving them abilities when they meet certain requirements."

He nodded and looked down at the blue sword he'd grabbed when she pointed to it. "Like that one, for example. I put items found in the crystal mines and mountains of Atlas into it every time I broke it, and now it has a water and ice buff to it and even does exotic damage because of the crystal in it."

"Wow." He lifted the sword and looked back over to the barrel he'd hit seeing a thin strip of ice melting where he'd hit it, the surrounding wood was wet and frosty as well. "That's amazing, Scarlet."

She beamed at him and then gestured to the sword in front of her. "The thing is though that physical attributes decline as they get abilities and magic powers. Like this one, it's attack power is at 1 and won't ever get any higher unless it's through abilities, player skills, and other things like that. One last thing which some random people and those in the bigger guilds know is that all equipment has a crystal level."

He looked back to her from the swords and quirked a brow. "Crystal level?"

She nodded happily. "The crystal level is the amount of crystal in the weapon. When it reaches max, it can't be upgraded anymore and can't be broken. So in actuality, this game has a hidden level you can reach. If you stick with equipment for a long time and upgrade it with items instead of using an SDC, you can get it to be more versatile and effective than SDC weapons or armor."

Jaune's stomach dropped, and he looked down at his equipment. Had he just wasted their potential by giving them a solid boost? He sighed mentally, and facepalmed. Scarlet giggled and patted his shoulder. "Don't worry if you have equipment that's already maxed out in crystal. You can just reforge it. It's like recycling, but you lower its physical stats to increase the crystal level of it. Although only one SDC can be used on any one item. Before there was the whole SDC scare, people tried it, and it didn't work." She said, holding her chin, striking a thinking pose.

He let out a breath and let out a relieved chuckle. "That's good." He patted his equipment. He'd already lost his sword and shield. He didn't want to lose anything else because he needed better stuff. He felt attached to what he had. He gazed back at Scarlet. "Thanks for the info. Who'd have thought I'd run into someone like you. You're amazing."

She blushed at the compliment, and her bunny ears dropped in front of her face while she looked away, trying to hide it. "Well, thank you." She touched the blade on the table again, drawing his attention to it. "I found out almost all of that using this sword right here. And the other one your holding. The only thing that's stumping me is that I can't upgrade it anymore because it needs a special item after it reached the threshold it's at."

"Threshold?" He said questioningly.

"Yes, mm-hmm. You see, there are different thresholds, like with traits. Every 100 levels, it reaches a new one. I actually got this sword to level 300, but I can't upgrade it anymore unless I have a certain item. It's reached a special class called a nihil weapon."

"Whats a nihil weapon?" He placed the blue crystal sword against the counter, genuinely getting into this topic.

"Nihil is Latin for nothing. Which makes sense considering its physical stats are all at 1 right now. When I try to upgrade it, it says they'll all reach zero. So basically, it'll become an ability stick though that might be because I don't know what item to use. The only way to upgrade a nihil weapon is with an item that nobody has found yet."

He picked up the red-tinted blade and looked at it. "What kind of item would that be?"

Well, there are three unique items listed under Ether in the material list. Items like potions use things called 'mind of,' insert monster name here. For armor, 'body of,' insert monster name here. They are concentrated crystal orbs that vary in color and sometimes size, but there's a third material for weapons listed under question marks. With the other two being mind and body, I assume it's a soul or something similar." She huffed. "The problem there is that grimm are soulless creatures, and players don't drop souls on death, so nobody knows how to get one."

Jaune's eyes widened and he opened his inventory. There at the bottom next to his elixirs, it sat. He tapped the item, and an information box popped up.

**Item: Soul of Carnage**

**Item Type: Crafting material**

**Rarity: Exclusive**

The flavor text was different than usual, written in a looping cursive that was very different from the rest of the game's text. The text box was also different. It was like he was looking at a torn page from a journal of some kind.

"_**I can't tell what the material is, but it moves. I don't know exactly why, but it feels…alive. It doesn't give off heat, but I feel warm when it's in my hand. I cannot ignore it either. It beats in my satchel like a heart, and it whispers to me. It tells me of things to come. It warns me of Him. Who? I cannot say. But He is coming."**_

The text was a little creepy, and it didn't have much to do with the item itself. It was more like someone's thoughts on the item than an actual flavored description. He tapped the soul of carnage and pulled it out of his inventory, letting it rest in his hand. He hadn't taken it out or examined it before, but he had to agree with the flavor text. As it sat in his palm, he could see the material it was made of slowly moving around. And not just the inside as if filled with a liquid. The outside seemed to shift. He reached up with his other hand to touch it, but he couldn't feel any difference as the material moved under his fingers.

Also, the same weightless feeling he'd felt before losing consciousness in the room with that girl came over him. It felt… warm. He pulled his hand away from him and offered it to Scarlet while still staring at it. "Is this… what you're looking for?"

She looked at the orb curiously and gently took it from his hand to inspect it. She pulled down her goggles and whispered a skill he didn't quite catch. Suddenly a loud ringing noise resonated through the shop, and both of them looked around. Scarlet jumped back as a plethora of notifications popped up in front of her. Neither of them knew what was going on, and Scarlet started freaking out when a pair of angel wings with a crown above them and a bell hanging between them appeared above her. A large number of exp popped up over her head, somewhere in the tens of billions.

"Holy shit," Jaune said quietly.

"Lord," Scarlet said, looking above herself. Her gaze fell back onto him, and he could see the shock in her eyes. "Who are you, and where did you get this item from?"

He opened his mouth to answer, but he paused and looked down at the sword. "I'll tell you and answer any questions you have if you finish the sword and give it to him."

Her eyes widened, and she shook her head. "No! It's mine I won't just give it up like that."

He held his hand out to her, taking a calm breath. "Then give me back my item." She stepped away from him and went rigid as her hands moved behind her back. He just helped this girl out not too long ago, and they even had a pretty nice conversation. Not only that, it seemed like she just got a massive bonus of some kind, and now she wanted to take his item. The one he went through some serious bullshit for!

"Hey, it's not yours. Now give it back." She shook her head, and he frowned with a small scowl. "Look. I want the sword. And I'd like to have it upgraded. You want to upgrade it to see what'll happen. I have the only item that can do it. From what you said, nobody even knows what they are or how to get them…except me." She looked away from him, shrinking in on herself. "Now, we can make a deal if you want." Her eyes widened, and she looked back at him. "You finish the sword and give it to me. In return, I'll tell you where I got it from, and any more I get; I'll bring them to you."

She looked at him and then down at his hand, slowly reaching out and shook it. They looked into each other's eyes and nodded.  
"Deal."

**~ 0 ~**

**Authors notes.**

**~ 0 ~**

**A quick response to the person who guessed as to what kind of character he's building, you're very close.**

**~ 0 ~**

**Okay, I've gotten three reviews and a few PMs about Yang and Ruby, as well as Jaune, feeling guilty about what happened, so I'm going to address that here.**

**First, Jaune's feeling guilty. He doesn't feel guilty about what happened between him and Ruby or Yang. Its something else entirely. However, he does feel bad that his best friend has been avoiding him for 5 months.**

**He understands why she reacted the way she did, and he knows he should have been more tactful, that does not translate to guilt. He is being ignored by someone he's close to over something he believes is simple and has apologized several times for with no real resolution, which he doesn't understand.**

**He's just confused and feeling a little down because of it. The depression mentioned is not due to that. It has been ongoing for a while, as referenced by Blake in ch 4, and it just got more noticeable over the last 5 months.**

**As for Yang knocking Jaune out, let me explain. Ruby and Jaune are in Ruby's room, alone. Yang is in the house, hears yelling, and goes to investigate. She sees her little sister run out of her room, crying. Yang being a protective sibling, gets angry (Completely reasonable), Walks into Ruby's room to see Jaune on the floor. Yang being irrational, jumps to conclusions and hits him once in the head. (Jaune not expecting it and not bracing for the hit is knocked out.)**

**Now for Ruby. In this story, there are no special weapons, huntsmen, or anything like that. (Much like in ready player one and several manga/anime) Games are serious things that make money and are essential to people who play them.**

**Ruby's hobby is playing games instead of building weapons. It's her love and passion. Her character in the game she's playing is the equivalent of Crescent Rose, her babby.**

**Now it's implied that Ruby likes Jaune, enough to give him a limited beta key for the world's most anticipated upcoming MMORPG. After playing together for a while and building their characters up, they get killed, and it is implied they lose access for the last day before launch. That on top of Jaune telling her to grow up and that it's not a big deal is devastating.**

**This is because, as stated previously and in the story, games are significant and vital in the real world. Also, as I just stated, Ruby is passionate, and all about games, and her character was vital to her. Not just that, but you will get more details on why she reacted so bad in ch 6.**

**Ruby just had her best friend whom she has a crush on, (and they are in college mind you so not a silly kid school crush but something more serious) Just told her to grow up, "It's" not a big deal, and she needs to get over it. (Jaune doesn't know or remember what "it" is. He was talking about the game, but Ruby was frantic and talking about something else).**

**Anyway, that is not something you want to hear from someone important to you or about the things that mean the world to you. So her reactions are valid and reasonable. Also, connecting to Yang, Her continued behavior is understandable in part to Ruby's reasons for being upset.**

**And for the last point, you have not seen nor heard either Yang or Ruby in the story yet. All you know is how they reacted right after said event, and are both currently giving Jaune the cold shoulder. There are other reasons for their continued attitudes and behavior. It is not all just that one instance. That is simply the instance related to the game and story that is connected to Cinder.**

**I am not hating on Ruby nor Yang and have no plans to. Anyone reading and feels that I am, need to understand that they are college kids, and typical stupid drama will happen. Some people overreact, some hold grudges, but at the end of the day, people will be people. There is not a grand plan for every action; some things are just people being emotional.**

**So you'll need to continue reading to see what I mean and get the full story of Who, What, Where, When, Why, and how. Not everything will be explained or out in the open from the get-go.**

**Thank you, and I hope you all continue reading.**

**~ 0 ~**

**Character name: Crocea Morse**

**Level: 75**

**EXP: 8,115,260**

**Next level: 33,585**

**Nationality: Vacuo**

**Affiliation: Arc Trading, Vacuo, Fifth kingdom**

**Title: Unblessed **  
**When not in a party, or if debuffs are active, gain 100% recovery rate to SP, AP, MP.**  
**When Partying with one person gain 50% recovery rate to SP, AP, MP.**

**Trait:**  
**False Hero: **  
**Grants access to no cost combos and increases effectiveness of traits without increasing trait level.**  
**(More combos, skills, abilities and spells unlocked at higher levels)**

**Class: **  
**False Hero: Intrepid blade **  
**Knight: Tank**

**Secondary Class:**  
**Adept rouge: Master of arts**

**Opening Skills:**

**Cutting Gavotte: **  
**Two slashes followed by a downward slash that produces a wave of energy dealing magic damage that is equal to characters physical attack. **  
**Can chain into combo finishers and finishing skills. **  
**(If SP is below 10% launches foes back breaking your combo) **  
**[Minimum requirement 150 DEX & AGIL, costs 1500 SP]**

**Acrobatic Skill:**

**Side kick:**  
**Dodge around, away from or towards an enemy with a follow up side kick. **  
**(SP above 30% breaks combos)**  
**(SP below 30% halts attacks and stuns enemies canceling skills and combos for 10 seconds. Resets combo)**  
**[Minimum requirement 250 AGIL 200 DEX, cost 200 SP]**

**Visceral Metronome:**  
**Dodge in to an attack and deflect it. Can be repeated infinitely so long as SP is available. Release skill to striking back for 50% of damage of deflected attacks times every attack deflected. Max 6 stacks.**  
**Cannot deflect magic attacks or attacks from uncanny or unique weapons. Scythes**  
**Lances **  
**Ultra greatswords **  
**Bows **  
**Crossbows **  
**Some types of daggers **  
**Throwing knives**  
**(No auto targeting. Player skill required)**  
**(Can chain into Finishing skill at the cost of 6 stacks)**  
**[Minimum requirement 250 AGIL 250 DEX, 300 EVA, cost 200 SP]**

**Finishing Skills:**

**Eternal Refrain: **  
**A devastating non elemental magic and physical attack that does direct damage to target. **  
**(If SP is above 90% deals double damage)**  
**[Minimum requirement 150 DEX, 150 AGIL and combined score of 1500 Phys ATK and MAG ATK, costs 3000 SP]**

**Abilities:**

**Dexterity 100+**

**Hands of an artisan: Passive**  
**When using a skill SP consumption is reduced by 10%**  
**(Stacks on top of other multipliers)**  
**(+50% Ability Effectiveness)**

**Agility 100+**

**Adept: Passive**  
**When in combat movement speed is increased by 40%**  
**(Includes all movement. Can be stacked with Evasion abilities)**  
**(+50% Ability Effectiveness)**

**Evasion 100+**

**Artful Dodger: Passive and Active**  
**When in or out of combat acts of advanced gymnastics are achievable free of cost.**  
**When in combat acts of advanced gymnastics accompanied by a guaranteed counter attack are achievable for 500 SP**  
**(Cannot chain into combos or finishing skills)**  
**(+50% Ability Effectiveness)**

**Resilience 100+**

**Fear of the blood: Active**  
**when bleed is inflicted Resilience is increased by 50%**  
**(Stacks with other Resilience abilities)**  
**(+50% Ability Effectiveness)**  
**[costs 10 AP per second]**

**Resilience 200+**

**Fear of the flesh: Active**  
**When critical wound is inflicted Resilience is increased by 50% **  
**(Stacks with other Resilience abilities)**  
**(+50% Ability Effectiveness)**  
**[costs 10 AP per second]**

**Spells:**** -**

**Combos:**

**For the damaged coda:**  
**Promise Reprisal, Canceled Reprieve, Coda**

**Combo starter:**

**Promise Reprisal:**  
**Grants hyper armor for a heavy stab followed by a punishing shove that knocks down opponent if not dodged. If dodged followed up with a spinning AOE attack that does 25% of base damage and stops followup attacks.**  
**Guarantied hit on target, possibility of striking surrounding opponents.**  
**(Cannot be chained into)**  
**[No cost]**

**Combo booster:**

**Canceled Reprieve:**  
**A spinning attack that is unblockable, but can be feinted in which case will execute a rising slash followed by a heavy down crack that armor breaks opponent for a short time.**  
**(Cannot be used in the same combo more than once)**  
**(If used after a spinning attack then opening spinning slash will deal 100% more damage)**  
**[No cost]**

**Combo finisher:**

**Coda:**  
**Guard break and grab target running them through the heart with your sword. Deals 200% critical damage through armor and resilience.**  
**(Cannot be used in the same combo more than once)**  
**(Cannot be interrupted or canceled)**  
**(Player will take full direct damage from all attacks that land during this attack)**  
**[No cost]**

**Stats:**

**HP: 7500/7500 +50% = 11250/11250**

**SP: 12862/12862 +50% = 19293/19293**  
**RR 190% of DEX every 10 second **  
**(66 per sec)**

**AP: 8455/8455 +50% = 12682/12682**  
**RR 120% of AGIL every 10 seconds **  
**(42 per sec)**

**MP: 365/365 **  
**RR 1% of INT every 10 second **  
**(5.5 per sec)**

**Phys ATK: 899**

**Phys DEF: 1083/1083 +120% = 2382/2382**

**Mag ATK: 675**

**Mag DEF: 876**

**Character Durability: 15000/15000 +100% = 30000/30000**  
**RR 300% of Resilience Every 10 second **  
**(119 per sec)**

**Traits:**

**Dexterity: 250 +40% = 350**

**Agility: 250 +40% = 350**

**Evasion: 300 +40% = 420**

**Intelligence: 80**

**Wisdom: 55 +40% = 77**

**Charisma: 20**

**Resilience: 285 +40% = 399**

**Available trait points: 0**

**Armor:**  
**Set: 14604/14604**  
**Armor Set Effects:**  
**Null.**  
**Equip full set**

**Chest plate: Pendragon Cuirass**  
**4400/4400**  
**Effects: **  
**Unbreakable**  
**+100% Armor Effectiveness **  
**+20% Resilience (x2)**  
**+10% Character Durability (x2)**  
**+15% Phys DEF (x2)**

**Arms: Pendragon set**  
**2002/2002**  
**Effects: **  
**Unbreakable**  
**+100% Armor Effectiveness**  
**+20% DEX (x2)**  
**+10% Character Durability (x2)**  
**+15% Phys DEF (x2)**

**Waist: Pendragon Tassets**  
**2002/2002**  
**Effects:**  
**Unbreakable**  
**+100% Armor Effectiveness**  
**+20% Wisdom (x2)**  
**+10% Character Durability (x2)**  
**+15% Phys DEF (x2)**

**Legs: Pendragon set**  
**3600/3600**  
**Effects:**  
**Unbreakable**  
**+100% Armor Effectiveness**  
**+20% Agility (x2)**  
**+10% Character Durability (x2)**  
**+15% Phys DEF (x2)**

**Clothes: Pendragon Royal coat**  
**2600/2600**  
**Effects:**  
**Unbreakable**  
**+20% Evasion**  
**+10% Character Durability**  
**+15% Phys DEF**  
**+50% HP**  
**+50% SP**  
**+50% AP**

**~ 0 ~**


	6. Chapter 6

Project Remnant

~ 0 ~

I do not own RWBY

~ 0 ~

"_Thoughts"_

"Speech"

'words with implied meaning.'

Regular text

**Menu info/ abilities, skills, combos**

_**Enemy and ally info/ abilities, skills combos**_

**"Disembodied voice/ Messages."**

**"**_**Disembodied thoughts /Memories."**_

~ Ch 6 ~

~ Where do we stand? ~

Before Jaune left the Scarlets' shop, he had an inspired idea courtesy of the auction houses idea to make a paper trail. Just to cover his ass in case Scarlet tried anything funny. Not that he distrusted her, but he didn't trust her either. Jaune asked for the item back and took a screenshot of it in his inventory while exchanging a few messages with her detailing their deal. Once that was all said and done, he handed it back over to her, garnering a smile and a wave as he walked out of her shop, offering a friendly wave of his own.

After hitting the streets of Vale once more, he headed to the main entrance of Vale. The one Raven had guided him through where the huge fountain overlooked the town. He figured if he and Blake were going to meet up, it would be there. It seemed like the main entrance to the city after all. Upon arriving, he picked out a bench for himself and waited for a response from her. It looked like his errand, despite taking longer than he expected, still hadn't been long enough for Blake to get on.

Looking up at the sky, he took a breath and smiled. "Guess I could go through my stats and read up on everything I've gotten. If I got anything from the pendant leveling up, that is." It did kind of suck that he'd lost all of his old skills and abilities as well as the possibility to get more from the Ether once he equipped the pendant. Hopefully, he got good things from it every time it leveled. After all, everything he got depended on it now.  
The strange part about that though, was how the abilities he'd gotten looked to be building off of his secondary class more so than his main. He wondered if it had to do with the traits he was leveling.

After looking at the newest addition to his arsenal, he took a look at the leveling guide. Character growth had changed from what little he remembered being in the beta, but now it worked the same way it had in a single-player game he had that was developed by the same company that developed this one.

Every level gave stat increases by a set amount per level based on the main class and half of that based on secondary class. Traits, on the other hand, only went up based on the secondary class. He vaguely remembered Ruby telling him to pick something that complimented his main class like a paladin for magic and defense. He remembered tossing her advice aside, telling her he had an idea he wanted to try. It was one he'd gotten from the single-player RPG he had. It was to mix knight and adept rouge.

The adept rouge was similar to the assassin and rogue classes in so much that it was a damage dealer with a focus on mobility, but it differed in the fact that it was a magic class that used melee weapons. The class's focus was on dealing critical magic damage consistently; however, it had to be close to do it. That was where the innate mobility of a rouge came in. It was powerful when played right or in a group and made an excellent stand-in for a black mage if built right, but it would take a while to pass the curve where it became viable due to being squishy, so not many people picked them.

Knights, on the other hand, were a hard tank class with high resilience and defense to take punishment as no other class could. They focused on being able to take damage and shake it off while having just enough attack to draw aggro to do their job.

"Wow, I can't believe I went through with it." He rubbed his chin while contemplating the information. Coupled with his experience in the other game and that the same company made, he must have decided to see how it would work out in an MMO. With Knight as his primary, his stats would increase mostly based on a tank. That, in turn, would give him lots of defense and moderate attack, thus granting him high survivability.

Now that being said, while only gaining half stats with his adept rouge class it's high attack boosts would outstrip the knights even at half stats. Not to mention it would give him max trait boosts for an adept rough, which had the advantage of focusing on mobility and magic/elemental attack.

So, in short, he was covering both classes weaknesses while defeating the purpose of using both for what they truly were. He wouldn't be able to use magic on its own, but he could do some serious damage with it so long as he had a magic weapon, some kind of spell to buff a weapon or something like his skill Eternal Refrain that dealt magic damage.

He would also be mobile enough to avoid most attacks and fast enough to make the added damage a serious problem for other people and NPCs. Though if he did get hit or happened to get stuck in an AOE, he could tank it. Not the most versatile but effective and suitable for soloing. A real hybrid class made from a whim to experiment.

"Wow." He sat up straight, smiling to himself. "I did pretty well actually, and the pendant compliments such a random class build to." He pulled up his equipment window to look at the pendant's info and the buffs he got. The one about regenerating his SP and such while solo seemed too much of a coincidence. "Maybe it does grow based on my traits and how my character grows."

He rubbed his chin while closing the window and pulling up his equipment tab, looking at his new gear while still pondering his idea on that. He'd decided on buying the blue sword with the elemental strike buffs on it for one reason, and it was related to a hunch he had, which he'd just confirmed. He didn't have much MP, and his intelligence was crap even for a pseudo magic user, but his magic attack and defense were pretty high. Even without the ability to use strong spells, the ability to take full advantage of a magic weapon that did good physical damage could be devastating in his hands.

He closed the equipment tab lowering his gaze to his left arm. He fixed his arm with a contemplative look lifting it to eye level. The sunlight glinted off of the small steel buckler that Scarlet had picked out for him. She'd told him it complimented and boosted the magic attack of his sword. After hearing that, he'd taken it without question. Granted, it wasn't like what he'd had before, but his shield skills were nonexistent. A larger shield would only hinder him with the abilities he had now.

He'd paid Scarlet a bit more than what she'd asked for them much to her seeming discomfort as she tried to wave him off. Granted, she'd tried taking his item earlier, but they had come to an agreement, and she was parting with an item she'd put so much work into in return. Her whole speech about helping new players had inspired him to help her out too. Even if it was just overpaying to help her guild with bills. She still refused, but after he asked her to replace the grip with several straps to fasten it to his arm and free up his hand, she'd relented and taken his money saying the sword would be done in a few hours at most.

All in all, he'd paid almost 150 million gold. The sword and shield alone had been almost 98 million, and the labor cost for the new sword was about 50 million. He was surprised it cost so much, but after Scarlet's explanation of how leveling up equipment worked and that the blue sword was in the two hundred level range along with how upgrading could go wrong if not done right with specific and expensive items he'd shrugged and handed over the money. He'd almost not bought the new sword thinking he wouldn't be able to equip it, but she'd explained to him that equipment with a max crystal level could be equipped by anyone regardless of level and class.

She'd mentioned something about some rouge merchant guild that had figured this out and made them just to sell to low-level people. Said people couldn't use them right and didn't notice till later because of being able to equip them anyway.

He frowned at the though while putting his arms behind him as he lounged on the bench with a sigh and looked out over the city. "I can see why Scarlet want's to help out new players. That's pretty rough. And with how much they cost." He winced thinking about some new player who started and saved up only to get swindled and stuck with a powerful yet ineffective weapon. "Her guild doesn't sound so bad. Maybe."

His thoughts were cut off when a gentle ringing sound played, a message popping up in his notifications. He hit the message tab, a smile spreading across his face as he read who It was from.

Sender: Blake  
Subject: Meet up

"**Hey, Jaune. Sorry for the wait. Had to freshen up first. It also just hit me, but you said you just started playing, so there's a good chance that we're not actually in the same city or country even. We might not be able to play together today after all. My bad. If we can't, I apologize. **  
**Anyway, I'm in the fields outside of the city of Vale. Send me a message letting me know where you're at. I'll be waiting for a response."**

Before he could close the message, another one from her popped up. This one was detailing some directions to where she was from Vale with an attached image. He tapped the image, and it downloaded to his images folder before opening up, showing him the view of a big hill with a large tree at the top.

The idea they weren't in the same city had just crossed his mind as well. He'd made the same mistake with Sun yesterday even though they hadn't been able to play anyway. After reading the message and the directions, he sighed in relief. It looked like they were in the same area of Vale. That was good. He grinned and typed a quick response telling her they were close and that he'd be there ASAP. He hopped to his feet stretching as he let out a groan and turned to leave the city when he got another message from Blake.

He tapped it and another image downloaded. It was a chibby cat girl with a whistle in her mouth holding a large STOP! Sign. Underneath the GIF was a small message.

**Hey! Before you leave town, you better make sure to check in any loose items you have at an adventurer taskmaster. They're little stands built into the walls by the gates in cities. If you have a bank account set up already, store them there instead. Best to be safe, so nobody takes them just in case you get PKed while we're out.**

He smiled at the message and looked over at a stall set into the stone wall with an NPC sitting inside. A sign that had a treasure chest hung above them. As he walked over to the stall, he shot Blake a message while smiling.

**Thanks, Kitkat.**

As he stepped in front of the NPC, he got another message, but this time it was a GIF of an anime girl holding a knife wearing a sickeningly sweet smile while playing with the knife.

**Do. Not. Call. Me. That.**

He chuckled nervously with a worried expression feeling a chill run down his spine as he closed the message.

~ 0 ~

About an hour later, Jaune found himself following a winding road out of the city. It rose and fell with the slope of the hills and wound around a couple of larger ones with steep inclines. Eventually, the road itself lead to a sharp incline leading to a plateau where the road split into several diverging paths with a signpost in the ground detailing where each branch led. He thought back on Blake's advice to drop his loose items with that NPC in town. He'd almost walked out into the field with all of his SDCs and his level potions.

The adventurer taskmaster was a cool feature he hadn't even know about. That he could store his items at the gate till he got back was a cool feature. It sucked that he only had an hour to pick them up after getting back, which, in all honesty, wasn't too bad considering you could make official bank accounts.

He smiled to himself while putting a hand on his hip, going over everything he'd done recently. He was learning a lot about the game pretty rapidly, and he hadn't even really gotten started yet. "Hmm. I need to ask Blake how and where to get a bank account in Vale." He folded his arms behind his head, taking a deep breath and looked over down a small path to his right. A few players were walking about what looked like a small village. A few of them were entering some of the houses that sat along the path. "Or maybe I should ask her how I'd get a player home," He said out loud to no one.

He took a deep breath and turned to face the signpost in the ground not to far in front of him. "Well, I have to get to Blake to ask anyway, so now the question is, which way to go?" He scratched his head and moved to pull up Blake's message with the directions.

**Messages disabled in field**

His hand dropped, and he frowned at the notification. "Fuck. That's right." He sighed as his shoulders fell, head hanging as he turned to look down the road he'd come seeing only one other person walking around the bend heading up the steep path behind him. From what he could see further back, they were the only two on the road at the moment.

"Damn. Either this road doesn't get much usage, or there's just nobody adventuring right now. It had taken him almost an hour to get this far, which meant he should be able to see more than just one other person. He turned forward and tried to select messages again, but it still said messaging disabled. "Damn it. I don't wanna walk back to town just to memorize some directions."

Just before he closed the messaging tab, he noticed that there was an image tab with a glowing 'NEW!' next to it. He tapped it, and the screenshot along with the GIFs Blake sent him popped up in a photo list. He blinked, and then his eyes widened. He could see through the images, and in the distance was a hill that lined up with the one in the screenshot.

He scratched his head with a frown. "Well. I can't message her or check the directions, so it looks like I either have to go back to town and screenshot the directions or hope that's the hill." Looking over his shoulder, he eyed the long road back to town and sighed before turning to face the hill in the distance. "Well, lady luck, please smile on me."  
Just as he took a step, the rapid crunch or gravel and dirt met his ears. He stopped and turned around. There was no one there. "What the?"

"Rah!"

_**Launch**_

Jaune's eyes widened, and he spun around just as a bladed gauntlet came flying at his face. He stumbled backward, lifting his arms in front of his face to protect himself as the attack connected. A pained grunt left him as the blow connected. Despite blocking the attack and having a sound footing, he felt his navel flip as he went flying backward and tumbled down the steep road. He clenched his teeth as he rolled and skipped along the dirt. Reaching out with his left hand, he scraped across the dirt managing to get his feet under him and sprang up, jumping high into the air as he pulled his sword out, falling back towards the flat road by the base of the steep hill.

**Combat Jump**

His eyes widened as his assailant rushed up to meet him, grinning from under her hood. "Too slow chump!" her fist was drawn back, ready to hit him just as he touched the ground.

"Damn it!" He dodged out of the way of the hit by spinning to the side, falling into a cartwheel.

**Deft**  
**Artful dodger**

He completed the cartwheel and slid across the dirt, coming to a stop behind the girl, his blade swinging up across her back, making her grunt in pain while lashing out at him wildly.

**Lens Flare**  
**Deft**

"You little shit!" The girl spun around and readied to hit him, but her eyes widened when she saw him fall back into a handstand and flip away as a holographic image of him in an ethereal violet color slashed at her. She cried out in shock as the blow hit her, and she gripped her chest with a wince. "Fuck. Was that magic damage?!" She felt a chill run through her as the ice broke off of her back and front before shattering and melting on the dirt road.

Jaune landed the flip gracefully and pulled his sword up, holding it at the ready, bubbles, and frost emanating from its edge as the girl growled at him. "Fuckin cheater!" She threw her arms to the side and roared as a green light flashed around her, red energy forming around her hands.

_**Will of the warrior**_  
_**Combat boost**_

He grimaced, seeing the buffs activate and took up a stance while meeting her gaze. Their eyes met, and she gave him a cruel grin while licking her lips. He felt his stomach roll. "What the hell! Why are you attacking me?"

She took up a stance as well, her grin becoming smug while giving him a stupid look. "Aw, is the little boy scared? Does he not know he's playing a PVP game. Do you want your mommy?" She laughed and shot off like a bullet punching at his head.  
His eyes widened, and he moved his sword to block her fist, but she grinned, shouting out a skill.

_**Lying tiger**_  
**"Feint!"**

Jaune's eyes widened at the vicious look the girl gave him, and he coughed, doubling over, eyes bulging. All the oxygen in his lungs rushed out as her initial punch suddenly pulled back while her left fist buried itself in his gut, knocking him a good two inches off the ground. The blade didn't pierce, but he sure as hell felt it as he Staggered back, slashing aimlessly. The girl scoffed at him and took a step forward, batting the weak hit away while throwing a hard jab at his jaw, knocking him off balance.

_**Back Elbow**_  
_**Spinning high kick**_

Jaune's attacker quickly slid up in front of him, getting inside his guard, pressing her back against his chest. He tried to punch her, but she lifted her left arm, blocking the ineffective strike with laughable ease as her opposite elbow shot at his face. A hot feeling erupted around his mouth, and he saw flecks of blood in the air as his head snapped back.

He brought his sword around to hit her, but the girl jumped into the air dodging it and spun so fast he could barely keep up. His eyes widened as a black leather boot lashed out like a whip towards his face snapping his head to the side. With his already precarious balance, he found himself spinning towards the ground as the game's narrator chimed out.

"**Combo!"**  
_**Beat rush**_

The girl finished her spin and touched down a couple of meters in front of him, rushing right back in, her fists glowing red and gold as she drew back her arm for the start of the combo. He fell to one of his knees, stumbling back while raising his sword to block, but her attack broke through his guard, hitting him in the gut again, funny enough it brought him back to his feet, but he spit up a bit of blood feeling out of breath. He clenched his teeth and fell back a step dodging the second blow, but her follow up struck him in the cheek spinning him around just before he felt a foot plant itself on his back, sending him sprawling forward.

**Artful Dodger**

His left hand shot out, and he pushed himself to the side just as her attack landed. His eyes widened, and he yelped when he saw her fists crash into the road making a small crater.

"Get the hell away from me!" He yelled as he kicked the girl's elbow. The game was pretty realistic, but sadly her arm didn't break in the opposite direction. She did cry out while pulling her arm back. He took to opportunity and rolled away, trying to get his feet under him when his back hit the side of the hill next to them.

"Fucker!" The girl kicked at him, but he just managed to lift his sword, pushing the blade with his left hand for extra force deflecting her strike just enough to send her foot crashing into the stone above his right shoulder. The girl roared at him and pulled her foot back, but before she could follow up, he launched off of the side of the hill and slashed at the girl as he flew by.

**Lens Flare**

The girl tried to catch him mid-flight, but the after image slashed at her throwing her off. It didn't stop her, but it bought him just enough time to get up and steady himself before her onslaught continued. He shouted out a skill in a panic as she charged him.

**Side Kick**

The girl got even with him, her fist shooting out at his face but he jumped back just out of her striking distance as blue energy surrounded him and then jumped back in spinning gracefully to her left side and kicked her full in the face, his boot covered in a blue flame.  
The game's narrator called out.

"**Combo breaker!"**

The girl yelled in annoyance as she grabbed her face, wincing in pain but held her arm out palm facing him while shouting an attack just before he shouted out his new combo.

_**Shotgun Blast**_

**For the Damaged Coda: Link**  
**Promise Reprisal**

"Not happening, blonde!" The girl grinned as several bolts of light formed and shot at him. His eyes widened in panic as the magic attack came hurtling at him. He didn't know what it did and prayed it didn't cancel his combo, but if it was magic, he felt it wouldn't do to much damage considering his high magic defense and the fact she was a melee class.

He prayed this worked as the animation for his combo continued, and he pulled back his sword. A light gray barrier coated him just as her attack made contact striking him. He grunted as the magic bolts continued to pepper him, but his attack didn't stop.

"**Rangeki!" **  
**"Hyper Armor!"**

"What!" The girl shouted, her eyes widening in shock. She saw the damage numbers pop up above his head, and they were nothing to sniff at even with her low magic power. He was 50 levels below her, but he still powered through it while negating her combo finisher. He was either cheating or had some serious gear. His sword flew past her outstretched hand and stabbed her gut hard, knocking the air out of her. She was so surprised she barely dodged the shoulder bash that followed it.

"Rah!" Jaune yelled, following her, dropping low to the ground as the conditions for the follow-up AOE were met. A deep blue glow enveloped his sword as it came swinging around to the girl. Her jaw dropped, and she scrambled out of his attack range just as he came around, but he slid up to meet her, his sword tracking her.

She gasped. "An undodgeable!" The blade of his sword hit her across the side of her torso just under her left arm. It barely hurt, and her HP didn't drop much, but it was fast. Too fast. She stepped back quickly, trying to get some distance between them, but he kept pace staying in attacking range much easier than her what with his weapon being a sword.

**Promise Reprisal: Link**  
**Canceled Reprieve**

"Take this!" His spin continued into another one, this time longer with his blade arcing out in a broader strike as a red and gold glow enveloped it. She grinned and readied to counter his unblockable. She suddenly stopped her retreat and dug her boots into the ground bracing. She grinned and called out a skill.

_**Bullrush**_

Jaune grit his teeth. She was a higher level than him and knew how to fight in the game, way better than Cardin did._ "She wouldn't do that unless it could counter my attack. Fuck!_" He was mid animation and couldn't cancel to dodge. If she hit first, she would win, he was at critical health after her onslaught what with his double damage received and the heavy blows she'd already dished out. He only had one option._ "I hope Adept and Faster Reflexes are enough to execute this."_

"**Feint!"**

His spin stopped mid arc, but instead of stopping entirely and changing position, his sword angled down, slamming into the ground. It cut deep into the road as he took a quick stride towards her. His swing came up to meet her just as she pushed off the ground to rush him. His sword struck her chest faster than she could react. As his sword made contact, he jumped into the air, taking her with him. It was her turn to get knocked around. She gasped, and her eyes widened as she was lifted into the air, her move canceled before it could sufficiently initiate.

"**Launch!"**

Her move was officially canceled, and she scowled up at the blond guy as he rose even higher than her in the air raising his sword above his head, a purple glow emanating from the edge of it. She moved her bladed gauntlets to block the attack, and it worked, definitely mitigating damage, but then she heard something no one likes to hear.

"**Armor Break!"**

She crashed to the ground gasping at the impact as he landed in front of her. She winced, crawling back in fear, trying to get to her feet to use a combo breaker. She didn't know how but he was hitting her harder than a level 75 should. By a lot! He was hitting as hard as a level 160. She was already down to half health for crying out loud! _"She said this would be an easy mark!"_

**Canceled Reprieve: Link**  
**Coda**

She held her hand out again, shouting.

_**Shotgun Blast**_

Just as the bolts of light formed, he grabbed her, and her body went stiff, the magic fading.

"**Guard Break!"**

Jaune moved in close to her, their noses touching as they looked deep into each other's eyes. The girl blinked at the guy in front of her. Their blue eyes, staring deep into each other. Her chest felt funny, and her heart skipped a beat as a warm sensation spread through her. She looked down and saw Jaune's sword piercing her chest right where her heart would be. He'd run her through down to the hilt, and she felt that oh so familiar invasive feeling of the game's pain counter letting her know she'd been stabbed. It was critical as well if the warm feeling was any indicator.

She looked up to the corner of her HUD and saw her HP at about 5% and coughed as he pushed her back while drawing his sword from her. She fell back to the ground blinking in disbelief. She couldn't believe it. How? How had a level 75 beaten a level 132 like her so quickly?

She felt the effects of the critical hit wear off, but a cold feeling was spreading from her chest now. She glanced down, seeing frost spreading from the place Jaune had struck. She felt her jaw chatter, her movements becoming sluggish and shaky. Her gaze drew up to the man she'd attacked as the surrounding area began to darken despite it being an open field in the morning. He was holding his blade above his head, and it was glowing as a pillar of light enveloped it, rising high into the sky. She whimpered.

**Eternal Refrain**

"Just. Give. Up!" Jaune shouted as his attack came down on her.

"**Overkill!"**  
**"EXP boost!"**  
**"Title gained, Underdog!"**

~ 0 ~

Jaune fell to his knees, propping himself up on his sword as he took in a big gulp of air. "Holy cow! What. The hell. Was that!" He said between breaths as he looked at the grayed out body of the girl who'd attacked him with a scowl. He stumbled over to her avatar, feeling out of breath after all that. He just didn't understand why she'd attacked him out of nowhere. Granted, Scarlet told him that people might come after him, but how did she find him? She had to have been following him for a while, considering they'd been the only two on the road. Was someone targeting him? He pushed the thoughts from his mind. He didn't want to think about what that meant right now.

Shaking his head, he brought up his inventory and pulled out an elixir. God, she'd hit him hard. He was at 12% health from just a few hits, and that was with his upgraded armor. He blanched thinking about how things could have gone it he hadn't read his new abilities earlier. He would have been paste with a couple of the other hits he dodged. He sighed in relief as he drank the elixir feeling his fatigue and pain fade away instantly. Throwing the bottle to the side, he targeted the girl.

**Target:**  
**Vernal**  
**Player LVL 132**  
**HP -**  
**TAB:**  
**Inventory - NEW!**  
**Equipment - NEW!**

"Level 132!?" He looked down at her and scowled. "What the hell do you want from me? This is a low-level area. You can't tell me that you just happened to come across me!" He huffed and then dropped to one knee next to her. "I don't know if you can hear me when you're down like that, but I want you to stay the hell away from me." He looked at the target window by her and hit both tabs opening up her inventory and equipment menu. He frowned and looked down at her but then turned back to her inventory and hit take all. "It was only fair, right?" He could have sworn he saw her expression darken as he stood up and moved away while watching her.  
Not ten seconds later, a few blue rings materialized around her, and she disappeared.

"And don't come back!" He shouted at no one. He took a deep breath while putting his sword away and looked around. Up at the top of the hill, a group of players had gathered to watch the fight. They'd all seen it and hadn't even tried to help him. He made a face and huffed as he made his way back up the steep road making his way to the hill in the distance. The day started so nice too, hard to believe something so small could bother him so much.

~ 0 ~

A little over an hour later, Jaune found himself climbing his way up the steep end of the hill, having not wanted to go through the forest and find the path. His hands finally gripped the edge of the small cliff, and he dragged himself up using a skill to flip over the edge gracefully before landing with a huff. Looking up at the crest of the hill, a large tree with lush green leaves waved gently In the wind.

It reminded him of the tree in Winnie the Pooh.

He smiled as he slowly made his way up to it and paused. Sitting on the lowest branch was a girl reading a book. She had dark raven hair and bright amber eyes that complimented her pale skin beautifully. While looking at her, he noticed a pair of dark purple, almost black cat ears poking out of her hair. He smiled to himself, thinking back to her purring last night and the nickname he'd called her. His gaze roved down her slender body taking in the dark brown leather and cotton she was wearing. It looked good on her, but it just didn't fit her color palate. His eyes eventually fell to her legs, and that's when he noticed it. There was a tail swinging below the branch she was sitting on.

He chuckled to himself and shook his head, making his way under the tree as quietly as possible. He could tell she was dead to the world and lost in her book when she didn't even flinch after he accidentally stepped on a dry branch snapping it. She just turned the page in her book. He smiled in amusement and shook his head in amusement as he leaned against the tree directly below her and slid down between the large roots.

Looking out over the hill, he could see Vale in the distance but not the field he'd walked through due to the other hills and the plateau between them. He breathed a sigh of relief relaxing as he stared out at the scenery, a happy smile on his face. "Well, At least I didn't run into any grimm from the event. I guess the trouble was worth it. There aren't many places like this anywhere nearby in the real world, anyway." He stretched and settled in against the tree, his eyelids drooping as he drifted off to the sound of the breeze rustling the leaves above while the sweet smell of grass filled his head. "Blake…picked a good…spot." He trailed off as his consciousness slipped away.

Unaware of how much time had passed, Jaune dozed there lazily until something warm and soft tickled his face. He smiled and let his head turn, feeling the warm softness brush against his cheek. It was nice. That is until it thumped his nose. He scrunched his face and blinked a couple of times while remaining motionless for the most part.

There in front of him, he saw a black cat tail. It gently swayed back and forth before moving in close to tickle his face again. He grinned and reached for it as it came at him. The furry limb slipped through his fingers, pulling up out of his reach as a light giggle filled the air.

Looking up, he saw Blake with her book in hand; only it was upside down, and she had a small smile on her lips. He rolled his eyes, wearing a grin as he stretched out, letting himself fall to his side to lie down on the soft, springy grass while looking up at her. "You enjoying your book up there?" He said through a yawn. "Must be quite a skill to read backward and upside-down."

She made a noncommittal noise while putting a bookmark in the book and closed it storing it in her inventory with a flush. She glanced down at Jaune and slid sideways off the branch, hanging on with her legs as she reached down and dropped into a graceful roll. She elegantly rolled next to him, sliding to a stop as she took a deep breath stretching out with a yawn. "Mm. I can see why you started to fall asleep. It's much comfier than up there."

He saw her tail flick, and her cat ears twitch the same way his mom's cat Mini did when she was feeling good. He closed his eyes and fought down the laugh that threatened to interrupt the peaceful moment. He took a deep breath and calmed down, pulling his arms behind his head. "Well, you could have let me sleep longer then, you know?"

He heard her get up and opened his eyes to see her standing over him with an amused expression. "Didn't you get enough sleep last night? Plus, I let you have a 30-minute nap just now. It's like 12:05."

He shrugged and looked up into her amber eyes. "Well, it was hard to sleep with you on my mind." He'd meant the purring she'd done last night. Despite being drunk, it had stuck with him, and he'd actually found it pretty funny. He'd spent half the night in a drunken euphoria thinking of stupid ways to tease her with it and had eventually come up with the nickname KitKat.

His eyes widened when he saw Blake look away with a darker flush standing up straight. Was she still embarrassed about it? Maybe he should let it go. She had asked him not to call her that, and she'd even sent him a message saying not to use it with a none too subtle threat as well. He was about to apologize when she kicked his foot. "Get up already. It's not good to lay around all day."

He winced at the kick and sat up, pulling his legs closer before giving her a sly look. "You know we're lying down right now, Blake. This is just a game." He saw her cheeks darken further as a small scowl flitted across her features, and she turned away from him, crossing her arms.

"Shut up, Jaune." She kicked him again for good measure.

He groaned and rolled over. "But Blake, the grounds so comfy." He said in a childish tone while hugging the ground.

She rolled her eyes, her blush dying as she gave him an unimpressed look. "Well, you're late. If you wanted to rest for a bit then you should have gotten here sooner. I did give you instructions with a shortcut."

He frowned and rolled back over, giving her a deadpan look. He didn't want to get into the whole pendant thing and have to explain how it pretty much screwed him when it came to interacting with others, so he fell back on the hiccup he'd had on getting here. "Tell that to the girl who tried to PK me on the way." He retorted as he stood up, dusting the grass off his clothes. He paused after not hearing any response from her for a few seconds and straightened up, turning to look at her. The frown on her face was telling, and it made him feel kind of awkward. "What?"

She held his gaze, making him feel like he was being examined. "What level are you?"

He blinked. "I'm level 75. Why?"

She gave him a confused look. "How is your level so high? I thought you said you just started."

He opened his mouth to respond but got quiet and then shrugged, seeing her fixate on him then glance above his right shoulder, most likely looking at his target info. Jaune really didn't wanna get into how he used to play with Ruby, and he didn't feel like telling every person he met that he was in the beta. Granted, Blake most likely wouldn't jump to conclusions like everyone else seemed to since she knew him but still. "Um, this girl helped me level really fast when I started."

He saw her posture shift, and she turned profile to him when he said that. He raised an eyebrow and then just shook the feeling off. She glanced at him with her arms folded and spoke softly. "All right then. How did you have trouble with a low-level person trying to PK you? This is a starter area, after all. Not many grimm either." She observed him carefully, waiting for a response.

He frowned at that. "Yeah, that's what everyone keeps telling me, but I have to say out of the five people I've met two were above level one hundred. The girl who attacked me was level 132."

"Bull shit," she snapped at him. He flinched, taking a step back at the look on her face and tone of voice. "There's no way you ran into a level 132 out here _and _beat them in a fight. Not at level 75. Especially if you just started playing."

He narrowed his eyes at her. "Well, it happened okay. Look. I even took her stuff after I killed her." He pulled up his inventory where Blake could see it and scrolled passed all the items he'd gotten from her to the bottom where the girl's gear was and showed her some of the stuff he took. "See. It's level 130 - 132 gear."

Blake's eyes widen at seeing the numbers. "But that can't be. You just. Nobody should." She grew quieter, muttering something about it being a higher level than hers and something that sounded like contract. She looked up, letting her hands drop to her sides, fixing him with a suspicious look. "How did you beat her?"

He blinked, confused. "How did I beat her?" Blake nodded. He thought about it for a second. If he was honest, it had to be the double damage he dealt along with that last hit from Coda for the most part. That attack was stupid strong though only in a one on one fight or one where the odds were in his favor. Without it, he'd probably be dead in the field right now. No way to contact Blake and unable to respawn or get up for six hours.

He frowned at the idea that he could have unintentionally stood up Blake if he'd lost that fight. He looked at her to see her waiting expectantly for his response. "I guess I lucked out with the attacks I chose? She was thrashing me at first, but I managed to counter her right at the end. It came real close." He scratched the back of his head, looking off into the distance. "She was pretty determined to kill me too. Followed me from town and rushed me when we were out in the field. I've never even seen her before. Maybe I was just better?"

She gave him an unimpressed look, and he smiled sheepishly. "Look, I really don't know Blake, she was a way higher level than me and almost killed me with her opening attack."

She took a slow deep breath while looking down with a hum. He was going to ask her what she was thinking about when she looked up at him. "Change of plans."

Jaune tilted his head and walked to get in front of her as she started walking off. "Hey, Blake. Blake. What do you mean by a change of plans?"

She just walked around him while holding her chin in a thinking pose, not really paying attention to him physically, but she did answer. "We were going to go adventuring and level you up a bit, but you're already level 75, so you're good for now. What's more important is that someone was hunting you and you don't know why. I know someone that might have some info on this, so we need to go there to ask her."

He watched her with a dumbfounded look as she headed off. "Wait. What?" He jogged to catch up, falling in step with her. "I- I don't get whats going on. Hunted? By whom? for what?" She didn't look at him but pulled up her messaging tab and shot off a message to someone. "Hey, Blake. What does 'being hunted' mean?"

She glanced at him out of the corner of her eye, giving him a _'really_?' look to which he rolled his eyes. "Yes, Blake, I know what hunted means, I'm not stupid. I meant, what does it mean in the game?"

She came to a sudden stop, and he almost tripped trying to stay even with her as he turned to look at her. "What?"

She folded her arms and fixed him with a stern look. "It means that you pissed someone off or did something really bad that would get a guild mad at you enough to want to put a hit out on you."

He gulped, eyes going wide as he pointed to himself. "A hit. On me?" He stared off into nothing, memories of Holy telling him just what selling those SDCs could do and most likely had done flashed through his mind. He shook his head and looked back at Blake. "I didn't do anything. I just started playing."

She just narrowed her eyes slightly at him before she closed them and pinched the bridge of her nose, letting out a sigh. "I believe you, Jaune." She smiled at him comfortingly, offering him a shrug. "You aren't that kind of guy. That's why I'm worried about it."

He quirked a brow. "Worried about it? It's not that serious, is it? I mean, I'd just come back. Permadeath isn't a thing in the game." He grew quiet at the look on her face.

She shook her head and looked off towards Vale. "No, it isn't. That doesn't mean it'll end when you die though. People can keep the hit on you. It can get to the point of harassment and griefing. Whoever put a hit on you either want something from you or they want you to do something, or even to stop doing something in particular." She continued walking while looking over her shoulder at him. You obviously caught someone's eye. Why? I can't say. I do know how to find out though. They would have to know your name for starters. It would help if you had a list of people you knew or have met. It should be easy enough, and the list should be short if you started playing very recently."

He looked down, following her down the gentle slope of the hill to a road leading into the forest. He had a really bad feeling about this whole thing now. If it were something random where any jerk could pick his picture or name and pay to have him killed, that was strangely more appealing than it being any of the people he'd met. It sounded like coercion to him, and there were only a couple of people he could think of that he'd met who knew his name. He felt sick as two pairs of eyes flashed through his mind, one crimson the other gold. _"Shit."_

He sped up, getting even with Blake again as they entered the forest, the sun getting blocked out for the most part. "Well, if it's so serious, couldn't you just message your friend?"

Her shoulders dropped, and she nodded. "I could, and I did, but we need to go in person because the info we need can't be given freely. She does know we're coming through. So we'll be able to get what we're looking for a lot easier." She gave him a small warm smile accompanied by a playful look. "Besides, I wanna show you around."

He sweatdropped. "Didn't you say this was serious? I don't think mrfph…"

She cut him off by pressing her finger to his lips, giving him a katty grin. "Don't worry, Jaune. I'll protect you." She turned away from him, coughing into her hand. He could have sworn he heard something like 'noob.'

His shoulders dropped at her comment, but he let it go with a shrug, and they headed off once more.

~ 0 ~

Getting back to town was far quicker than the trip out, thanks to Blake's shortcut. They picked up their things from the Adventurer Task Master or ATM for short, as Blake had pointed out with a smirk. The acronym had gotten a laugh from him as the two headed off down the winding steps to the left of the large fountain to head further into the city.

While walking through the streets, Jaune found himself looking at the new buildings in awe. They were fancier and more decorative than the ones he'd seen so far, and it stunned him. "Hey Blake," He asked while slowing his pace to look at one building in particular.

It was a decent sized building that had a black roof with warm chocolate brown walls complemented by ebony accents and golden trim that had a fancy sign out front reading Boutique De Mode in looping golden font. The front of the store had mannequins with some fancy looking clothes similar in design to the blue Pendragon royal coat he'd gotten in Atlas during the beta.

Blake turned to see Jaune staring at the store with the odd glance at the surrounding stores. She put a hand on her hip. "What's up?"

He looked back at her and gestured to the surrounding shops. "Where are we? I've never been here, and these stores look different from anything else in town."

Blake folded her arms and turned to continue down the cobbled stone path. But she did answer him. "This is the business district where the player-run shops are located. The ones that aren't located in the holy palace anyways. Typically these stores are owned by people from other kingdoms because nobody wants a foreign kingdoms shop in the city's main guild location." She shrugged and sighed. "Politics."

Jaune frowned at that. He could understand that this was a PVP oriented game and that spying or espionage was a very real probability but seriously? Discrimination in a game based off of in-game nationality? He shook his head and sighed, looking back at the clothing store. "Man. Sounds rough."

Blake looked back at him sharing his frown. "Yeah, it is. I'm not actually from Vale either, so I can't even open a shop unless I start one in Vacuo and expand to here."

He blinked at her and smiled. "Hey, we both picked Vacuo as our country then. Cool."

She blinked back at him, head tilted. "Yeah… cool. Hey Jaune, when did you start playing this game?"

He paused. "Uh. Why?"

She fixed him with a stern look. "Because you're already level 75, which takes at least a week to get to if you grind non stop, and that's if you have access to increasingly higher level grim and quests which Vacuo doesn't have so it would have taken twice if not three times as long. On top of that, you can't leave for another kingdom until you reach level 50. Not to mention The trip from Vacuo to any country or town is a minimum of 4 IRL days, and you seem to have already been here for a day, at least, maybe more. When you said you started recently, did you lie to me?" She finished with a slightly hurt expression.

Jaune looked at her with a shocked expression. He knew Blake wasn't stupid in the least, maybe a bit reckless if the stories he'd heard about her at rallies were true but holy cow had she just put him on the spot. "I-I didn't lie. I did just start a couple of days ago." He got out quickly.

She eyed him warily with a sigh. "Then how are you such a high level, and how are you here? Are you a cheater?"

He grimaced his eyebrow twitching at the accusation. He was a serious gamer when it came to playing. Exploits sure. Short cuts hell yeah. But glitches and cheating? "No, I'm not a cheater. What's the point in a game if you use hacks or mods to get around things?"

She just continued to watch him waiting for an explanation to his level and why he was here. He sighed, dragging his hand down his face. "Alright. I was a beta tester, and I just started playing again. Happy!" He said more aggressively than he meant to.

Blake's cat ears flattened against her head at his response, and a scowl clouded her features. "Don't yell at me. You're the one who left out that bit of information when I asked who might wanna put a hit on you!" She said back at him with a raised voice feeling defensive after he raised his.

He folded his arms across his chest defensively and scowled back. "Hey, I haven't played since me and Ruby fought so sorry if I had other things on my mind and didn't think about if I'd pissed off someone I don't even know!" Jaune's eyes widened after his outburst, and he looked down at the road letting out a breath. "Sorry, forget it. I'll deal with this on my own. It's not your problem anyway."

Blake's expression fell, and she stepped closer, reaching out to him. "Jaune, wait, I."

He walked past her shaking his head. "It's whatever Blake, it's not your fault. Just let it go." He continued down the road more subdued than even after his run-in with that Vernal girl earlier.

Blake watched his back with a guilty frown as he headed off. She looked down, berating herself mentally._ "Wow Blake, Some friend you are. He's just trying to enjoy himself, and here you are giving him the third degree and arguing with him about a non-issue. I'm such a bitch."_

She took a deep breath and looked up, her eyes widening, seeing Jaune almost at the end of the road. She rushed down the pathway to catch up. She didn't want their day to end like that. He didn't deserve it. Not him. "Jaune Wait!"

He stopped at the end of the path and turned to face her with a blank expression she'd never seen him wear before. She came to a stop in front of him and opened her mouth, but her words got caught in her throat when she looked into his eyes, seeing the apathy behind them. "What's up, Blake?"

She lifted a hand halfway and stepped closer to him. "Jaune, I'm sorry."

He smiled at her, but it was hollow. "Don't worry about it. I already said it wasn't your fault. I should have told you instead of avoiding the topic, and this wouldn't have happened. We're fine. I'm just feeling burnt out right now."

Honestly, after his first day back in the game, he had to say he wasn't enjoying it as much as he thought he would. The combat was fun, and the scenery was beautiful, but the pain boosts from the pendant and that event he triggered he could have done without. He looked up at the sky and sighed as he put a hand on his hip. "Maybe I should just quit."

Blake's eyes widened. "What? No." She reached out, touching his bicep, drawing his gaze to hers. "Please don't."

He looked at her searching her features for something. The hurt expression she gave him made him feel like a jerk. She had offered to help him out in the game today. He also had to remember. She'd asked him to hang out with her. Not only had he been late and fallen asleep on her, but he'd also withheld information she'd asked about, and he even got mad at her.

He took a deep breath and nodded slowly as his expression softened. A genuine smile was breaking out across his features, making her relax. "Alright, Blake. I'll stay." He lifted his arm and squeezed her shoulder reassuringly. "Sorry for being a jack ass."

She smiled at the genuinely warm response he gave her. The two stood there just looking at each other for a bit. It was a funny moment that should have been awkward what with the little spat they just had, but for some reason, Blake couldn't help the playful grin that spread across her face. "Yeah, and I'm sorry for being a bitch."

The two looked into each other's eyes for a good ten seconds before the smallest of grins broke across their lips. Not a second later, they both doubled over laughing. A few of the surrounding players stopped to stare at them before rolling their eyes and moving on.

Blake covered her mouth, trying to calm down. It wasn't exactly funny, but she couldn't stop laughing, none the less. It was more so a laugh born of relief after their argument, and it helped her calm down. She was sure Jaune was the same. The whole situation was abnormal, and it just confused her, but if they could laugh together about what happened, they were still on good terms meaning Jaune's words from earlier hadn't been hollow.

The two calmed down, and Blake wiped a tear from her cheek, god this game was realistic. "Hey, Blake." She finished wiping her mirthful tears and looked up at him curiously. "What do you say we forget about the whole hit thing for now and just hang out in town?"

She blinked a few times, wondering where that came from. He'd seemed so worried about it before they argued, so it came as a surprise. "Why? I thought you were in a rush to get it taken care of?"

He looked away, laughing nervously while scratching his cheek before his eyes met hers again. "I invited you over last night, and you were great company, but here I am taking up your time after you asked me to hang out with you. I want you to enjoy today, and I'm sorry for such a lousy start."

She gave him a warm expression. This was just one more reason he was a great friend. Despite being as dense as lead, sometimes he was good at acknowledging his faults and making up for them.

It had also slipped her mind that he was here for her, but leave it to Jaune to be a good person and not push his problems or troubles off on others despite how he felt. She admired him for that. She sighed internally. It wasn't healthy to bottle everything up, though. She wanted to do something to help him relax. It was the reason she'd asked him to hang out with her in the first place.

One of the notifications she'd gotten while logging in had mentioned that at midnight a special event was going to start. PvP was going to be disabled, and the cities in the game were going to be transformed into a festival for the 2nd of October, international no violence day. There would be dancing and drinking happening in all the major cities, and no one had to worry about being attacked in the fields.

He was really similar to when they were kids as far as she could tell, and if she remembered right, he enjoyed dancing and listening to music. He was also a gentle person that didn't much like unnecessary confrontation. Her idea had been to hang out all day and help him level up then end their outing on a high note by hitting the event.

She looked up at Jaune and smirked good-naturedly. "Well, if you wanna make it up to me, then how about this. There's an event that starts at midnight, and it's only going to go on until 5 am." She stepped close to him, getting in his face giving him an intimidating look. "For now, we take care of your little problem to kill time until the event. Then you being the gentleman, you are will take me to said event."

Jaune blinked at her about to respond in the negative. He had classes tomorrow early in the morning after all. He couldn't just ditch to hang out with her. Could he? He did have a 4.0 GPA. Calling in for one class wouldn't hurt, would it? All it would take was a quick email to professor Port. Looking at Blake, he felt his heart ache, and his will crumbled at the hopeful expression she had. With a happy, defeated smile, he nodded. "Alright, Blake."

She beamed at him and then walked past him, gesturing for him to follow. "Come on. We're almost there. Oh, and one last thing." She turned to look at him with a happy smile. "How could I have had a bad start to my day? Breakfast was great."  
He watched her turn back around, heading off with a spring in her step. He just shook his head, chuckling to himself as he followed after her.

~ 0 ~

Their end destination ended up being a rather large building tucked away at the end of a dead-end street near one of the walls of the city. It wasn't like any of the others he'd seen so far what with its mundane appearance. It stuck out like a sore thumb with all the other personalized shops around it. Looking up at the sign, Jaune saw what could only be described as a target or cross-hair. "Hey, Blake. What kind of place is this?"

Looking over her shoulder at him, she pulled her hood over her head and motioned for him to do the same. "It's a hunters guild. Don't confuse them with huntsman guilds. These places are…" She grew quiet and turned to face the door. "Not reputable. They aren't bad per se. Let's just say money is everything here."

They walked inside to see a few people milling about looking at a bunch of posts on a board near the left wall and a long counter with three people wearing aprons standing behind it — one guy two girls.

One of the girls looked up from what she was working on and stood up straight, beaming at Blake. She had dark brownish rust-colored hair and light gray eyes with tan skin. Her apron was green, and under it, she wore black tights and a black tank top. "Hey, you finally made it!" She rushed around the counter, skidding to a stop in front of Blake, rapid-firing questions at her while simultaneously drawing the attention of everyone else in the establishment.

"Shhhh! Liz, stop being so loud." Blake hissed out while fixing the other girl with a glare from under her hood, making her flush as she quieted down. Blake sighed in relief and walked over to the counter, her friend following before hopping over and turning to face them.

"Sorry, it's just I don't see you often anymore," Liz said bashfully while scratching her nose. "My bad." She looked up and scowled a bit. "I thought I told you to call me Ilia. I don't mind if you use my real name in-game. Besides, my avatar name sucks."

Blake shifted uncomfortably, but it was almost unnoticeable. "I-Ilia." The other girl beamed, and Blake let out a breath. "I." She gestured to Jaune. "We need information."

Ilia's expression became serious, and all of her earlier exuberance vanished in an instant. "What kind of information?" She asked slowly while shooting Jaune a look.

Blake leaned in closer to the other girl while glancing at someone who was watching them, her voice dropping to a whisper. "My friend was just attacked by a hitman. He hasn't been on for a long time, and he has no idea who could have put the hit on him or why.

Ilia looked back to Jaune and then to Blake. "Smart to tell him to put his hood down in here. Anyway, what's his name?"

"His name is Jaune." He looked towards the girl Ilia and nodded.

Ilia quirked a brow scratching her head. "Hmm. There aren't any hits on anyone who's name start with a J, at least not that I can recall.

Blake looks at Jaune, and her eyes widened, having just realized she used his real name instead of his avatar's name. Instead of asking him, she pulled up her messages from him and read the name of the sender. Her eyes widened, and she seemed stunned. Jaune and Ilia looked at her in confusion, both about to say something when she turned to Ilia. "Check for the name Crocea Mors."

Ilia's expression fell, and she looked down at the counter. Her reaction made Blake stiffen. Ilia rubbed her left arm and grimaced. "I… can't tell you the name of the contractor or the reasons. it's been listed as confidential, and we were paid double the fee not to tell anyone."

Blake slammed her hands down on the counter startling Ilia. "Is there any way we can get the info?"

Ilia took a deep breath. "You'd have to pay the bribe fee."

Blake was about to open her inventory when Ilia held out her hand. "Don't bother. The bribe fee for this one is in the tens of billions." Blake's jaw dropped, and she looked up at her friend in shock. The girl across from her frowned. "He pissed off some important people, Blake. Or he has something they want badly. Bad enough to pay for all the fees to keep themselves hidden and contract confidentiality."

Blake's shoulders dropped, and she looked over at Jaune. He looked pale. She turned back to Ilia. "Isn't there anything you can give us?"

Ilia just shook her head before she motioned for Blake to move in close. The two were nose to nose when Ilia finally spoke so softly even Blake could barely hear. "They have another hit out. Complete it, and you find out who it is."

If it were a hit for such a high paying client, then it wouldn't be easy. She glanced at Jaune out of the corner of her hood and saw him rubbing the bridge of his nose, looking stressed. They might not even be able to handle the mark to find out who was targeting him, but He would try his hardest to do the same for her, she was sure. It was just the kind of person he was. Blake fixed Ilia with a determined look. "We'll."

"Be going. Thanks, Ilia."

She was cut off and blinked, turning to look at Jaune. "What!" She said louder than she'd meant to, making him flinch at her loud tone.

Ilia looked between the two curiously as Jaune put a hand on Blake's shoulder, smiling at her reassuringly. "It's fine. Look, I can follow what you two were talking about. I have a 4.0 GPA, remember. I get that It's not something we would be able to handle." His grip tightened on her shoulder before he let his hand drop with a smile. "Thanks for caring though Blake, it means a lot to me. I'll figure out what to do some other time. Besides, it's not your problem; you don't have to worry about it.

Blake frowned at his words, feeling a little hurt that he didn't think they could handle this. Granted, it would be tough, but she was no noob, and he had taken out that level 130 somehow. They could do it.

She narrowed her eyes at him, and he saw her hood move meaning her cat ears had as well. He stepped back when she jabbed his chest plate. "Now you listen to me. This is a game, and someone is trying to ruin it for you. I'm your friend, and I want to help you enjoy it. If that means going on some crazy mission with little chance of success, then fuck it. Like you said, it's not like permadeath is a thing."

He blinked at her and tried to respond, but she fixed him with a glare. "We did not fight about this earlier just to have it end here for nothing. I'm not going to let some asshole ruin my day by messing with my friend. It's not right. Besides, didn't you say you were here to hang out with me today?" She stepped back from him, folding her arms. "Well, I wanna do this."

Jaune just gaped at her in disbelief. Oh, he knew how she was when it came to fairness in regards to anything. Especially after their conversations over the last few months. She was getting fired up about this. When she got going, it was near impossible to stop her.

Blake turned to a stunned Ilia, making her jump. "Give us the mark." Ilia nodded and scurried off while Blake stood there arms crossed frown clear to see despite her hood.  
He could imagine the glare she must be wearing, enhanced by her bright amber eyes. He shivered at the mental image. Blake could be scary when she got going.

He just stood there stunned, a small smile creeping to his lips. A funny feeling was running through him. He couldn't accurately describe it, but he couldn't stop the smile on his face from growing. Not a moment later, Ilia came back with a scroll and handed it to Blake, who nodded and said her thanks before turning to leave walking right past him.

Looking over to Ilia, he offered an apologetic smile only to receive a sympathetic look in return. He quirked a brow only for Ilia to wave and smile. "Good luck."

Before he could ask what she was referring to, he choked as his collar pressed against his throat, and he was dragged backward. He stumbled, trying to keep his footing while Ilia just leaned over the counter, laughing.

~ 0 ~

Just outside of the hunters guild shop, Blake let go of Jaune's coat, and he almost tripped before he righted himself. "What was that for?" He said in a strained voice while rubbing his throat.

Blake looked at him and flushed. "Sorry. I'm just." She huffed and pouted as her gaze shifted to the ground. "It just pisses me off that somebody is targeting you like this. I know you aren't the kind person to start trouble, and I just." She let out a tired sigh and shook her head. "I don't know."

She paused when she felt a hand rest on her head, and she turned to look up at Jaune. He was smiling down at her chuckling softly. "What's so funny?" She asked in an accusing tone as she shot him a glare.

He just kept chuckling and shook his head as he made his way back down the path. "Honestly, I don't know. I just feel happy for some reason. I can't stop smiling. I kind of like it." He folded his hands behind his head and kept walking while humming the Mario theme.

Blake watched him with a content gaze as she followed after him at a more sedate pace. She hadn't seen him laugh or smile like that since they were kids. Granted, they hadn't been around each other for about ten years, but over the last three and a half, she hadn't seen him like this even once.  
Something had definitely happened in those ten years that affected him.

She smiled warmly at his back, hoping he was on the mend from whatever had happened while they were apart. It sucked seeing such a good person like him down all the time. His current mood was a welcome change.

A memory of a seven-year-old Jaune wearing jean shorts, a red t-shirt, and black high top converse popped into her mind. He was holding a giant tuna in one hand, fishing rod in the other while laughing like an idiot with the biggest cheese-eating grin on his face. All the while, he was shouting about how he'd caught her favorite before the two of them begged her dad if they could eat it.

Her mother had been the one to clean and prep it in the end, and boy had it been good. She smiled fondly to herself. That had been a good day. "Blake?" She blinked and looked up, just now noticing that she'd gotten lost in thought for longer than she'd meant to. Jaune was more than a few shops away already. His expression was more relaxed, but the smile was still brighter than she'd seen in a long time. She met his gaze and grinned as she jogged to catch up to him.

~ 0 ~

A while later, Jaune and Blake were sitting by the fountain overlooking the city. They were sharing a bench while eating steamed pork buns from an NPC stall while going over the mark. Now eating in the game didn't do much other than help you feel like you ate, so you didn't get too hungry while playing, but it did positively affect characters. You got a small boost depending on what you ate, and Jaune himself got a notification saying his 24-hour eating timer reset again.

He closed the window while chewing before leaning back on the bench, relaxing as the breeze blew through his hair. A content sigh met his ears as he glanced at Blake to his left. She was looking out at the city happily, a small smile playing across her lips. He swallowed his food, the wrapper disappearing from his grip as he finished his bun. "So what are we supposed to be doing exactly? You know as far as the mark goes."

Blake finished her food as well and stretched her arms above her head before leaning forward, resting her elbows on her knees while propping her head up. "Apparently, there's a person killing people who take the road from Vale to the port town of Cliffside on the way to Patch. Her name is Guinevere. She's a Macabre dancer class who uses throwing knives, and she's level 167."

Jaune got quiet at that. Blake took a deep breath and looked over at him. "What?"

He just looked out over the town like she'd been doing and sighed. "What level are you?"

She frowned and forced a smile to her lips. "I'm level 143, and my equipment is under-leveled, by a lot. It's gear score 129. My highest level piece of equipment is level 140, and it's my weapons. Runner up is 128, and that's my breastplate."

She was seriously having doubts about whether or not they could do it, which was pretty sad considering her earlier bravado. She let out a weak breath about to tell Jaune maybe they really should just let it go for now when a firm hand rested on her shoulder, drawing her gaze to her companion. "Jaune?"

He was looking at her with a warm, supportive grin. "Well, then let's go bag this girl so we can get you some newer equipment."

His response made her wanna slap him. She was supposed to be the one supporting him right now. It made her feel funny that he was doing what she'd been trying to do for months without even trying. "Jaune. You're an idiot." She stood up and turned to face him, giving him an amused look. "What am I gonna do with you?"

He followed suit and stood up, his height forcing her to look up at him again as he smirked down at her offering a shrug. She rolled her eyes and let out a groan. "Well, let's go."

Just as she turned to head towards the ATM, she heard the ping of a message from Jaune, and she turned to face him. "What's up?"

He opened the message and read it real quick before looking around, spotting something over the rail further in town before he closed the message and grinned at her. "My weapons finished."

She tilted her head, giving him a confused look. "What?"

~ 0 ~

Blake was confused. Jaune had mentioned his weapon being finished, which stumped her. As far as she knew, Vale's only weapon shop was in the holy palace, and you had to go through some serious bs to get in even if you were a citizen. Like she'd said earlier, 'foreigners' were not welcome to set up shop there, so doing business there was even harder. Plus, Jaune was only level 75. What kind of equipment did he have made?

She looked around where they were at now, and it threw her off. They were on the opposite side of town from the holy palace, and he was looking around like he knew this place. "Hey, Jaune. Where are we going? I thought you said you had a weapon to pick up." She pointed through an ally between two houses with a fence blocking the drop at the end. The holly palace in the distance. "The holy palace is that way."

He looked at where she was pointing and then back at her while jabbing a thumb over his shoulder. "Who said anything about the holy palace? My weapons smith is right over there."

Blake Blinked at him and leaned to the side, looking past him at the shop behind him. She just now noticed that there were several sets of armor and weapons displayed in the window. Her eyes widened as she walked past him, pressing her hands and forehead against the glass. "No way."

Jaune just watched her as she moved over to the shop. "What?"

Blake turned to look at him and gaped. "Jaune. This is the only shop in Vale that sells equipment that isn't in the holy palace. Do you know how much people would pay to find out about this place?" He gave her a look of disbelief, and she groaned.

"Jaune, remember when I said my gear was under-leveled?" He nodded. "Well, there's a reason for that, and it's not because I'm lazy. Getting new gear in this game is hard, and typically extremely expensive. That's why upgrading what you have is so important." She folded her arms and gestured in the direction of the business district they'd come from. "Most players stick with stuff they find early on and just keep upgrading it and buy cosmetic pieces to wear over crappy looking gear. That's what that store you stopped in front of earlier was. A cosmetics shop."

Jaune nodded his head slowly while folding his arms. "Okay. But I thought Vale and Mistral offered gear as a faction reward every so often. It can't be that rare."

Blake folded her arms as well and sighed. "You'd think so, but the fact is that rare gear is only the third level of rarity and therefor low level making them not worth much, so people deconstruct them for materials."

She looked back at the shop. "The people who get gear sets from Vale every 10 levels have it much easier in the beginning, but after level 90 It takes to long to level, and any gear you upgrade to run dungeons would outstrip it so it's only viable every 20 or 30 levels so people scrap those as well or trade lower level players for rare items that they might have."

Jaune's expression lit up, and he nodded. "Oh, I get it. So that's why there's no crazy inflation. Free armor and items from rewards aren't leveled, so its near-worthless, which leads to them being scrapped instead of sold." She nodded. "He slapped his fist into his palm, getting a little excited. "So whenever people get Pk'ed instead of their killer selling their gear, they break it down to make themselves stronger therefor not flooding the market either." Blake's smile made him grin.

"Wow, Jaune, it looks like that brain of yours really did earn that 4.0 you have." She giggled at his weak scowl. "Anyway. As for why I don't have leveled gear is because I'm from Vacuo. I left at level 125 and haven't gone back since. Since." She trailed off, getting quiet. "I can't go back, so I've been having a hard time getting better gear."

Jaune gave her a worried look. "Blake?"

She shook her head and gave him her trademark smirk. "Don't worry about it. I just had a little trouble with my old guild. I renounced my citizenship to Vacuo and everything. I'm not welcome back there."

He frowned at that and tilted his head, giving a concerned look. "Blake, are you sure you're."

"I'm fine, okay!" She shouted, making him flinch back. She closed in on herself and let out a breath. "I'm glad I don't have anything to do with him anymore," She said as she turned away from Jaune.

"_Him?" _Jaune felt like there was a story there but decided that touching that subject was not something he wanted to do. He and Blake were friends, but they weren't close. Not to mention he'd blown up on her earlier. He didn't want to use up any goodwill he had left on something he had no business prying into. Instead, he put a hand on her shoulder. "Okay."  
She relaxed under his hand and took a deep breath before looking up at him to see his usual good-natured smile. She couldn't stop the pull she felt dragging the corners of her mouth up.

"How about we fix your little gear problem then?" He moved his hand from her shoulder to the small of her back and started guiding her to the door of the shop. "Plus Scarlet is a really nice girl. I'm sure she'd be glad to help out a person in need."

"Scarlet?" Blake asked in a flat tone shooting him a sideways glance while shifting away from his hand. He didn't seem to notice and nodded as he pushed the door open with a grin.

~ 0 ~

Scarlet was sitting behind the counter of her shop, looking down at a black metal box with silver trim that held the sword she'd put so much work in to. Crocea Mors' sword. She glared at the box and then sighed as she fell over it, sniffling. "It's not fair. I finally finished you, and I have to give you away. Uwaaa. I wanna keep you."

She sniffed and rubbed her nose just as the bell above the door rang. She jumped up and nearly pushed the case off the counter, but she grabbed it and pulled it back over just in time to appear presentable for whoever walked in. "Hello! Welcome to Patchwork Heart. How can I help you?"

"Hey, Scarlet."

She opened her eyes and blinked a few times. That voice was familiar. Not a second later, the guy from earlier walked around the shelf blocking the view from the front door. She felt her stomach drop a little, and she let out a tired sigh but offered a smile all the same. "Oh. Hello. Crocea Mors." She nodded at him.

He winced and rubbed the back of his head, but to her surprise, another hand shot out and slapped his hand down. "Stop doing that, Jaune." Scarlet tilted her head, her nose making a cute wiggling motion as a woman dressed in dark brown leather and white cotton came around the corner while giving her companion a lazy glare.

Scarlet giggled at the two, drawing their attention. "Well, I didn't know you were bringing a friend Crocea."

"Just call me Jaune. Short, sweet, rolls off the tongue." He laughed nervously and winced. Scarlet glanced down and saw the girl's heel grinding into his boot. She suppressed her laugh and nodded.

The girl Jaune had brought folded her arms and nodded at her. "Belladonna. You can call me Bella if it's easier." Jaune looked at her and opened his mouth to say something, but Blake shot her left arm out, slapping him across the chest, making him shut his mouth.

Scarlet smiled at the two as Jaune rubbed his chest, giving his friend a look. She shook her head before bowing to the two in turn. "Bella, Jaune. What can I help you with? Or are you just here to pick up your sword?"

Jaune walked up to the counter and gestured for Blake to follow. "Well, I only need the sword." He slapped Blake on the back as she came up and almost knocked her into the counter, getting a glare from her to which he smirked. "My friend needs some new gear. She hasn't been able to get anything better for a while."

Scarlet looked at Blake, who huffed and looked away from Jaune while nodding. "It would be appreciated if you have anything for an assassin."

Scarlet smiled and gestured to the rest of the store. "Just down that way. I focus on weapons, so I don't know if I have anything higher than level 130 armor wise." Blake nodded and headed off to look for something she could use. After she left Scarlet, turned attention turned to Jaune. "And I guess you're here for this." She pulled the black case between them and undoing the clasps before opening it and turning it around so he could see the labors of her work.

~ 0 ~

Jaune looked down at the sword lying in the case with awe. It looked completely different than it had earlier. "Wha? Is that the same sword?"

Scarlet nodded with a grin spreading across her face. "Yup. I was just as surprised as you. I've upgraded so many weapons and pieces of armor I can't even remember, but I do know that none of them ever changed shape like this. Maybe a change in color, material, or texture but never a complete change in design."

Jaune reached down and ran his hands over the blade. The peen Block was twisted like a double helix and had two ends. The pommel was in the shape of an infinite triangle that led into a cone-shaped hilt that spiraled up to and split into the guard. The guard itself looked like wings, but they were stripped. Almost the way an artist would draw the bones before drawing the actual thing. The blade was made of two separate pieces that spiraled like the peen block but with sharp edges that connected about eight inches up into the actual blade where a fuller went another eight inches up the blade then stopped just before meeting the ridge leaving another eight inches that closed into a thin sharp point. The red tinge the sword had had before was a full-on crimson color now.

"Sword of Cassius."

Jaune looked up. "What?"

Scarlet repeated herself while looking down at the sword. "Sword of Cassius. That's it's name."

Jaune gave her a curious look. "Isn't that the guy who killed Jesus in the bible? They call his weapon the spear of Longinus."

She nodded and then looked up at him. "Yeah. That's right. Are you a history buff?" He shook his head in the negative, and she shrugged. "Well, anyway, I didn't name it. As far as its specs go, it's as follows. You can examine it yourself if you want." He nodded and targeted the sword before hitting the examine tab.

~ 0 ~

**Item: Sword of Cassius**  
**Item Type: Weapon**  
**Rarity: Exclusive**  
**Lvl: 300**

**Stats:**  
**Durability: -0.1/-0.1**  
**ATK: 0**

**Effects:**  
**Unbreakable**  
**+150% Physical ATK**  
**+150 % Magical ATK**  
**-70% SP usage**  
**-70% AP usage**  
**-70% MP usage**  
**Life Drain (Lose 2% of HP per swing)**  
**Soul Drain (Lose 2% of MP per swing)**  
**Will Drain (Lose 2% of AP per swing)**  
**Curse of the Damned (Cannot regenerate SP, MP, AP during combat)**  
**Burden of the Mighty (Cannot be healed by spells during combat)**

**Abilities: **  
**Piercing: Deal damage through armor**  
**Drain: Life steal 10% of damage dealt on a critical hit**  
**In my spirit lies my faith: Stronger than love and with me, it will be**  
**(When solo debilitating effects do not affect wielder during combat)**  
**(When in a party ATK is increased by 25% per party member, friendly fire active)**

**Special ability: Carnage (?)**

**Item description:**

**A fist of fury, a deadly weapon, a sword of havoc, raised up in anger, born to do battle, without compassion.**

**More than a soldier, more than a killer…**

**And in his trail is mayhem, destruction always followed, by stricken enemies of, The soldier of no sorrow, the band of menace beckons, in numbers his protection…**

**The leader of the raiders, the brothership forever…**

**He…is coming.**

~ 0 ~

Jaune felt a shiver run down his spine at that. "Doesn't sound too friendly."

Scarlet nodded in agreement with a small frown. "I never thought my baby would turn into something so…angry. It just feels like there's something different about him. More than just the look or effects." She gestured for Jaune to take the sword from the case and pushed it to him. "I'm sad to see my baby go, but." She looked to the side. "But I don't think I'll miss him."

Jaune grabbed the handle of the blade, lifting it out of the case. It felt heavy but not in a bad way. The design didn't seem too practical, but it did have all those boosts. Granted, she was right about the negative effects, but damn. If he carried items with him, he could be a one-man army with the right armor. The word raid boss passed through his head.

There was a loud thunk that made Jaune and Scarlet jump. Blake had come back with a breastplate and two blades. One a short sword, the other a dagger. They were simple in design, but he could see the swirling surface on the metal and figured they were a high crystal level like Morsus Glacies, the ice sword he'd bought earlier. "Find anything else you could use, or was that it?" Jaune asked Blake.

Blake looked at Jaune and frowned. "If I found anything else I'd have brought it up here as well." He gave her a sheepish smile, and she sighed while turning to face Scarlet. "I'll take these."

Scarlet pulled down her goggles and opened her menu. She tapped a few things and then closed the menu while sliding her goggles up. "Alright. That'll be 235 million gold."

"What!" Blake and Jaune shouted at the same time, startling the bunny girl behind the counter. Blake slapped her hands down and leaned forward across the counter, her eyes wide. "Why is it so much I've seen gear at level 200 cost less."

Jaune put a hand on her shoulder and pulled her back with a wince. "Hey, Blake. I'm sure there's a reason it's so expensive." He looked at Scarlet, trying to help her, and she nodded furiously. Blake stepped back and took a deep breath while folding her arms. "Okay, Scarlet, go ahead. Why are they so expensive?"

Scarlet swallowed and reached for the breastplate. "Well, this isn't soo expensive, it's around 29 million. What's expensive are these." She lifted the short sword. "This is 114 million, and the dagger is 92 million."

Blake just continued to watch as if expecting more. Scarlet looked to Jaune, who shrugged. The bunny girl sighed and flipped them both into a reverse grip before stabbing them into the case, still on the counter. It started to crack, and dark smoke began to rise from it. Whatever they were doing made Blake's eyes widen, and her posture relaxed. Her full attention was on the daggers.

Scarlet just smiled and pulled them off of the case. "They have the ability to corrode the durability of equipment and deal piercing damage. It works as a debuff to wear down your opponents and break their equipment. If they don't do regular maintenance, they're screwed. It also makes armor fragile, which makes it possible for regular attacks to do piercing damage." She put them down, and Blake picked them up. "they're level 232 and 214, respectively."

Blake narrowed her eyes at Scarlet, who looked confused. "You tried to sell me things I can't use?" Jaune elbowed Blake, making her glare at him. "What?"

"Do you know what a crystal weapon is?"

Blake blinked at him. "A what?"

Jaune just sighed and smiled apologetically to Scarlet, making Blake scowl at the back of his head. "I'll explain it to her later. We'll take them." Scarlet smiled, appreciatively at him, and nodded. He turned to Blake and smiled at her too, but he stepped back, seeing the annoyed half-lidded glare she was giving him. "What?"

She set the weapons down on the counter and sighed. "I only have enough for the breastplate."

Jaune and Scarlet looked at each other. He was almost broke after upgrading his armor and buying the sword and shield earlier. He was resting around 50 million right now. He opened his mouth and laughed nervously, turning to Scarlet. "Wanna trade?"

Scarlet gave him a deadpan look and then grabbed her stuff, pulling it to her side of the counter. "I need to pay bills, love."

Blake looked crestfallen. Her cat ears fell on her head as she let out a sigh. "Come on, Jaune, let's go." She stopped when Jaune grabbed her hand and pulled her back. "Jaune, let go. We need to leave. We don't have enough money." She trailed off. Her eyes were wide as she looked at what Jaune was holding.

"I-I-I-is th-that a." Scarlet stuttered.

Blake blinked to try and see if it would disappear, but it didn't. She whispered her next few words. "A Solid Dust Crystal."

Jaune moved his hand around a bit, watching Scarlet's eyes follow it. He knew exactly how this was going to go now. Call him stupid, and irresponsible, but today he was here for Blake. She wanted to help him with his problem, and he didn't know why but he appreciated it, really he did. It's just that it seemed like they were going to have problems doing it with their current loadout. At least Blake would.

She'd been mopey since they got those steam buns, and he knew it had to be something to do with the mark and his situation. If he could get her some better equipment so they could pull this off and let her keep it as a gift, he was sure it would make her day. She played this game a lot, and he was sure a full set of crystal gear would be a boon.

He sighed internally. _"The things we do for our friends. Boy oh boy. Eh, fuck the guilds. Blake hasn't associated anyway_."

Scarlet reached out for the crystal with a wide-eyed expression, saliva dripping from the corner of her mouth. "Gimme."

Jaune snapped his fingers, getting the attention of the two girls. "So, Scarlet, wanna trade?" The girl looked at him, stunned, and nodded.

~ 0 ~

"Oh boy." Jaune exhaled as he sat up from his bed, pulling the AVRH off his head. He placed the device down next to his pillow and took a deep breath feeling his stomach growl. He winced at the tight feeling in his gut and got up, walking out into the living room.

He stretched while looking around and let out a yawn. It was already dark outside, and the apartment was pretty cold. That was strange. He couldn't hear anything and called out. "Penny? Penny, you there?"

There was no response. "Huh? Where is she? She was gone most of yesterday too." He walked to the front door and looked to see her Travel boots were gone. "Hey Ceres, where's Penny at?"

**"Ms. Penny was here throughout the day and rewashed the grease you left on the dishes you used earlier. Then she vacuumed the carpet. While doing so, she noticed that you or your friend spilled a few drops of wine that stained the carpet and left to get some stain remover."**

Jaune looked over the carpet and noticed a couple of wet spots by the edge of the couch. _"Oooh. Sorry, Penny." _He apologized, mentally.

**"Upon completing her self appointed task, she received a call from Joan Arc asking her to come by and pick up something for you. She conversed with your mother, and they concluded that with you spending time with your friends and that it is the weekend, she would stay with your mother and be back to cook lunch for your afternoon classes tomorrow."**

"Huh. That's… strange." His stomach growled again, and he rubbed his belly. "Well, I was just going to get something to eat real quick, but I don't feel like cooking, so I'ma pick some stuff up and be back later."

**"I will keep the apartment at 72 degrees and set the air scrubber to filter the air before you arrive home, Mr. Arc."**

He stretched his arms above his head and yawned again. "Thanks, Ceres. I'll be back in a couple of hours." He put on his low top converse all-stars and opened the door to his hall closet. He debated between the Pumpkin Pete hoody and his solid long-sleeve one. "Hey Ceres, what's the temperature outside?"

"**58 degrees Fahrenheit, 14.5 degrees Celsius."**

"Alright, thanks. I'll be back." He grabbed the solid black long sleeve and pulled it on while grabbing a thin scarf before slipping out the door while patting his pockets to make sure he had his wallet and his phone.

~ 0 ~

Jaune made his way down the road right hand in his pocket while his left pulled at his scarf, adjusting it while he looked at the displays in the windows of the stores he passed. He passed an antique shop with vases and knifes displayed upfront. It made him think back to just before he logged out. He'd ended up selling that girl Vernal's weapons and her breastplate to Scarlet for a good amount of gold before he'd come to an agreement on their trade.

Blake had wanted to keep the rest of Vernal's gear, saying it fitted her more. He was sure she just liked the black and white color scheme, but regardless. The rest of the gear, as well as the new breastplate and weapons Blake, had picked out, had been handed over along with an equal amount of SDCs and one extra. The deal. One SDC for the breastplate the weapons and upgrading them all.

Blake and Scarlet had been speechless at the sight of the seven SDCs side by side. Scarlet had grabbed everything and shouted that she'd be done in about 2 to 4 hours, so come back then.

He'd been pretty happy about everything, but that had stopped when he looked at Blake. She had this weird look on her face that didn't look happy at all. Not to say she was upset or angry, just not what he'd expected. He'd tried to talk to her, but She'd just said she was going to log out to get something to eat and be back later. Then she disappeared.

He came back to reality when a breeze blew by, making him shiver. "Man It's colder than usual for this time of year." He fixed his scarf and returned his hand to his pocket while smiling at a storefront with an elaborate holographic Halloween display. He scratched his head and chuckled. "Wow, is it October already? Man time flies." He stood there, admiring the display, wondering how the holiday snuck up on him.

He let out a tired sigh and looked up at the dark sky. It wasn't even 8:00 pm yet, and it was almost pitch black outside. Was it this late in the year? Was it already almost the end of the term? If it was October, then the year really had flown by. His finals were in a couple of months. After that, he'd be off to god knows where.

He started walking down the sidewalk again and frowned as his thoughts shifted. Everyone had gotten a lot busier over the last few months. Sun was, believe it or not, taking classes seriously and trying to get a job with Weiss' company. He still played way too many games and partied hard, but he said it was practice for the drinking parties he'd have to attend once he got the job. And the games. Practice for all-nighters. Jaune laughed to himself. "Don't ever change, buddy."

Neptune was, as he'd said back in high school, an intellectual. He didn't have a future he wanted per se, and that was fine because it looked like he was going to be staying in college for a while. Something about getting a Masters or a Doctorates. Jaune was sure it was so that he could stay on campus and party with the girls who came and went. The fucking horn dog.

Now Scarlet Er hmm, David, hadn't been too much of a shocker when he came out of the closet, senior year in high school. He'd been pretty buddy buddy with Coco, what with both of them working together on making some kind of clothing line. Now that he thought about it, the two of them had been really busy too; and they'd been asking for bigger and bigger loans over the last year. Sun had mentioned something about them putting it to good use, in any case. "Hmm. I wonder if they're almost done with their project?"

Now Sage. He was going into weight lifting with Yatsu, or at least that's what Fox and David had said. They were using each other as measuring sticks to get ready for the world's strongest man competition. Not only that, but they were both planing on opening up dojos after graduating. It made sense that those two were busy. After all, the saying went two days of rest is two months of work lost. Or something like that.

That made him think of Pyrrha, who was also training for her sports career. She was going into gymnastics, and Tennis, as well as training for the 400m sprint in the Olympics coming up in a little over a year. He couldn't help but feel proud that his friend was going to be representing them in the world event.

Now Ren was a lot like him. The difference was that he had the curriculum hammered into his head a while back, so college was more so a refresher and legal test. His quiet friend hadn't been as fortunate, unfortunate? And so he was studying almost non stop to get perfect scores to take over his family's company without a fight from the board. All so his parents could retire when he took over. He was a pretty cool guy like that. Now that he thought about it, he'd actually met them now, and he could see why Ren wanted to take over for them. It would give them some time to focus on themselves in the real world and not just on the game.

Nora, the endless ball of energy she was, had taken to studying just as hard as Ren, so as to in her words, "Be the best Secretary Ren could ever have. Then he'd have to make her pancakes every day for the rest of her life." She'd even tied a red string from his wrist to hers and said he had to pull it when she got distracted from studying, which the two used quite a lot and funny enough worked to tame Nora.

He smiled to himself remembering that day in the dinner on campus where he'd told her that Ren, what with his culture being Chinese and his family being traditional to an extent, pointed out the significance to the red string thing she was doing. Ren had smiled and shaken his head while Nora blushed and punched him so hard the entire booth seat he was in had shifted. It had left a bruise for a week, but he'd gotten a pretty good laugh in at the blush on her face.

Weiss was a different story. She, like him, had perfect grades, but instead of messing around like him, she'd taken to spending a lot of time in her suite doing god knows what or attending functions on behalf of her parents and sister. She did come around often enough to keep the biweekly lunch everyone had. Now that he thought about it, that was today. He pulled out his phone, but he didn't see any messages from anyone. "Guess I'm not the only one who missed it."

A billboard nearby started playing some commercial for an energy drink. He looked up at it and laughed. The can was black and white with a pair of amber eyes designed on it. He couldn't help but think about Blake.

Now, Blake, he wasn't too sure about. He said they were friends, but he didn't know too much about her personal life, just some things she liked and disliked. She took night classes instead of day classes like the rest of them as well as worked at the Pizzeria. Lately, she had been cutting back on the rallies and protests she'd attended. Last night he found out she played The world of Remnant a lot too so maybe she was winding down. She was probably going to go into some typical 9 - 5 job and play games in her free time. It seemed like the thing she'd do unless she ended up going off the deep end and doing something crazy.  
He chuckles nervously. "I hope she doesn't."

The commercial on the billboard ended with a sponsor from a gaming company, and his thoughts shifted to Ruby. He stopped walking. "Well, she's still doing her thing. I heard her gaming channel picked up a lot, and she signed with Altimate. "She's actually making a business out of her skills. I'm glad."

While he looked up at a billboard, the images changed from the energy drink to an advertisement for a boxing match coming up in a couple of weeks. It was for the semi-finals. He smiled when he saw a familiar pair of lilac eyes and blond hair. "Yang really is aiming for that belt, huh?" He rubbed his jaw and worked it while letting out a chuckle. "Well, she always could throw a mean left hook.

He shook his head and shivered as another breeze blew past him. "Damn, I should have put on a coat instead of my hoody." He took a quick breath and walked into the closest store to him. He sighed in relief at the warm air and pulled his scarf away as he inhaled, taking in the delicious smell of coffee. Looking around, he noticed that he'd walked into some kind of book store with a coffee shop or restaurant upfront. He sighed in relief and made his way to the counter.

He looked up at the menu and hummed._ "What to get. Definitely a large. I haven't eaten since early this morning. I need the caffeine." _He rubbed his hands together and walked up to the counter. _"I think I'll get a large coffee in a glass mug, black, no sugar, two shots of dark chocolate, and 2 shots of espresso."_ He let his hands drop and looked over to the book store again. Something in his mind clicked, and he remembered the paper for Ports he had yet to do that was due tomorrow morning. "Well, I guess I am calling in to spend time with."

"Hey, lady killer."

Jaune flinched. He didn't quite catch the voice, but the words registered in his head. Only two people called him that and one wasn't talking to him at the moment. Which either meant something happened or it was the other person. He braced himself and looked down to see Coco Adel standing behind the counter, looking at him with a happy grin. He smiled sheepishly, feeling relieved it wasn't Yang but strangely disappointed. He waved. "Hey, Coco."

She folded her arms, swaying her hip out, taking a relaxed pose while watching him. "Hey. How's it going?"

He shrugged and offered a small smile. "Same old same old."

She gave him a raised eyebrow. "Are Yang and Ruby are still avoiding you?"

He chuckled. "Like the plague."

He kept chuckling until he saw the unimpressed look she was giving him. He took a deep breath looking directly at her. "Sorry."

She rolled her eyes. "Look, Jaune, You really should try figuring out why. I mean, I know everyone is busy with studies and stuff, but you already apologized, and things are still going nowhere." He shrugged, and she shook her head. "Jaune somethings up, and it's bugging everyone. We understand what happened, and honestly, regardless of social ineptitude, you were a bit of a dick, but you've apologized, and things are well…" She made a face and gave a so so gesture. "You guys used to be the best of friends and now."

"I know. I just don't wanna bother them with finals coming up."

She sighed. "Yeah, and when finals are over, it's going to be graduation then moving, and then what? They'll be gone and so will you."

Jaune looked away while rubbing the back of his head, laughing nervously. "It's not gonna come to that I just…" He looks out the window front. "I don't know."

Coco smiled weakly at him feeling her heart drop at the look on his face. She leaned over the counter, and halfheartedly punched his left arm while speaking in a soft voice. "Come on, Jaune, chin up." She turned around and called out the order for the coffee he'd wanted without him telling her. To top it off, she added a personal pepperoni pizza and a coco swirl bun. He looked at her, and she winked back at him.

"How did you know what I wanted? I've never come here before."

She put her hands on her waist and swayed her hips to the other side while tilting her head, giving him her unique Coco smirk. "I pay attention to detail. Especially when something catches my eye, it's why I'm so good with clothes."

Just as she finished her sentence, her eyes widened, and she clapped her hands together. "Oh, Jaune! I finished working on my latest project. I want you to swing by my place later this week and check it out. It'll be fun. I want to show you what I've been putting those loans towards. You won't be disappointed, I promise."

He just stood there and blinked a couple of times, trying to process everything she just said, but he was tired and hungry, so he just nodded. "Um. Alright."

She grinned. "Okay great, come by Wednesday afternoon because neither of us has a class that day." Before he could ask her anything, she handed him a receipt. "Alright, lady killer. Go sit down, and I'll bring out your order when it's done."

He blinked and reached for his wallet, but Coco grabbed his shoulders and pushed him away. He walked a couple of steps away and looked back to see her waving him off. "I've got it, go sit down." He was always lending her money for her projects, so in her mind, it was the least she could do. Before he turned away, he smiled warmly at her saying thanks before heading off. She stood there, stunned. She hadn't seen that smile since their senior year in high school.

~ 0 ~

After walking away from the counter, he looked around for a table, and his eyes lit up when he saw someone else he recognized. He changed directions and moved over to them, sliding into their booth. "Hey, Ren."

The young man across from Jaune looked up from his textbooks and saw Jaune. He pulled off his reading glasses and smiled at him, offering a lazily wave as he tried to stifle a yawn. "Oahhha. Hey Jaune." He manages to get out past the yawn.

Jaune held in a laugh and then yawned himself. "Oahhha. Damn it, Ren." He said while wiping a tear away. "Look what you did."

Ren chuckled and shook his head before lifting his mug and taking a sip of his coffee. "You're welcome."

Jaune shot him a mock glare. "Go fuck yourself."

Ren shook his head. "Na, I'm good." The two fell into quiet laughter before relaxing back into their seats.

"So Ren, how's the studying going? It's been a while since we've talked."

Ren frowned slightly and made a so so gesture. "Some days are easier than others. It's funny, but it's getting harder to focus no matter what I do. This month has been pretty hectic too."

Jaune nodded while looking out the window to the street outside. "Yeah. Can't say why. It's just been…Tiring. You know?" Ren nodded in understanding. The two went back and forth with simple questions about the month that just went by since they hadn't been hanging out as much.

They eventually fell into a comfortable silence, and Ren went back to reading from his textbook when Jaune spoke up. "Hey, Ren." The dark-haired boy looked up with a bit of concern at Jaune's tone. "Are we…still friends?"

Ren's jaw slackened a bit, looking gobsmacked. He closed his textbook gently while giving Jaune a worried look. "Yeah. Why?"

Jaune put his hands in his pockets and slouched on his side of the booth. "I'm just wondering what happened to the good old days. When we all used to hang out all the time."

Ren nodded his head in understanding while sipping from his cup. He put it down and let out a long tired sigh while looking out the window next to them. He looked years older than he was at that moment. "Jaune, we are all friends. It's just that." Ren took a deep breath and propped his elbow on the table, resting his cheek against his hand. "We're all just kinda spread out right now."

"Most of us have different majors. And we all have different interests more than less. We got all of the easy classes out of the way early, so we had a lot of free time. Life was simpler three years ago. Now…I guess life is getting in the way of having fun."

Jaune nodded. "Yeah. I guess it's not reasonable to ask for us all to be party animals that picked easy majors so we could slide through college and have fun."

Ren smirked. "Says the guy who doesn't even like parties."

Jaune held his hands up in surrender and laughed weakly. "Guilty as charged." His laugh trailed off, and his hands dropped to the table. "I'm sorry."

Ren gave him a confused look. "For what?"

Jaune looked down at the table and let out a short breath. "For making things awkward between everyone."

Ren shook his head and kicked Jaune good-naturedly under the table. "Hey. Stop that. You didn't do anything. If anyone should apologize, it's all of us."

Now it was Jaune's turn to look up at Ren with a confused look. "Huh?"

Ren sat up and looked Jaune in the eyes, magenta clashing against cobalt. "Look, we're friends, and none of us have been too friendly over the last few months. Granted, we haven't been mean, but we definitely didn't go out of our way to make sure you were doing all right. We all just got caught up in the course work, and we didn't want to get in the middle of an emotional fight between friends. Nobody needs that right now."

Jaune looked down at the table. "Yeah, that's why I'm saying sorry."

Ren frowned while Jaune wasn't looking at him and decided to change the subject. He chuckled, which grabbed Jaune's attention and smiled. "You know Nora talks about you every day. She really does worry about you, but something always comes up, and we get sidetracked. Same for Pyrrha. Her trainers have been running her ragged. Especially with her going to the Olympics. It's almost like she's on parole. Last time I talked with her." Ren rubbed his eyes and forced a smile to his face. "I think it was almost two months ago now. Man, we really are drifting pretty far, huh?"

Jaune smiled halfheartedly and nodded. "Yeah. That's why I'm worried. I feel like things are getting too far along, and soon we won't talk at all. I mean, we just happened to run into each other right now."

Ren looked down at his textbook with a frown and then closed his eyes. He slid it off the table into his bag and then looked at Jaune, offering a small smile. "You know, you're right. We should try and set up a date and get everyone together."

Jaune nodded and smiled back halfheartedly. "Well, today was supposed to be our biweekly lunch with everyone."

Ren's smile fell, and he let out a small breath looking down at the table. "What? Did we really miss it?"

Jaune nodded, and Ren folded his arms while closing his eyes. "Damn it. Hey Jaune."

The blonde looked up at his friend. "Regardless of everything If you haven't talked to me for a while, I'm sure you haven't talked to Ruby or Yang. You need to talk to them to figure out what's going on. I mean. I can understand why Ruby freaked out. I mean that money was for her mom, and she lost, and you just."

"What?" Jaune cut him off.

Ren looked up at him, confused. "What what?"

Jaune leaned forward, putting his hands on the table. What was that about Ruby's mom and money?"

Ren closed his mouth and then looked to the side humming. "Well, right after the whole thing with you and Ruby, she and Yang told everyone the whole story. It was the same as yours, for the most part, you weren't lying about anything either." He paused and looked back at Jaune. "You really don't know, do you?"

Jaune shook his head, and Ren nodded, a look of understanding on his face. "Well, I don't remember the exact details." He slid out of the booth and stood next to Jaune, looking down at him. "You'll need to ask Ruby about it." Ren smiled down at him and patted his shoulder.

Jaune smiled weakly back up at him. "Guess we should set up a party or something, huh?"

Ren nodded and then pulled out his scroll and wiggled it. Call me some time. I know Nora would love to hang out like we used to. Maybe try and get Pyrrha to come to help us set it up?"

Jaune chuckled and nodded. "Alright."

Ren nodded and turned to leave as a waitress walked by him. Just as he was exiting the door, Jaune called out to him. "Tell your parents I said awesome job!"

Ren's eyes widened, and he spun around looking back inside the shop through the front door and saw Jaune talking to the waitresses who'd walked by him with a warm smile on his face that Ren hadn't seen for almost four years. He took a deep breath and smiled while pulling his coat's collar around his neck before heading off. "Good luck Jaune."

**~ 0 ~**

**Authors notes.**

**My apologies for the time between posts. A lot of personal stuff came up, which is ironic considering a theme in the story. Well, a lot is in this chapter as an apology, so you guys could have a lot to read. Ch 7 is in the works, but I'm going to update my other stories before I update this one again.**

**Let me know what you guys think of the chapter. I hope you enjoyed it.**

**~ 0 ~**

**Character name: Crocea Morse**

**Level: 75**

**EXP: 34,175,920**

**Next level: 33,585**

**Weapons:**  
**12000/12000**  
**Weapon set effects: -**  
**Equip weapon set**

**Right hand: Sword of Cassius**  
**Durability: -0.1/-0.1**  
**ATK: 0**

**Effects:**  
**Unbreakable**  
**+150% Physical ATK**  
**+150 % Magical ATK**  
**-70% SP usage**  
**-70% AP usage**  
**-70% MP usage**  
**Life Drain (Lose 2% of HP per swing)**  
**Soul Drain (Lose 2% of MP per swing)**  
**Will Drain (Lose 2% of AP per swing)**  
**Curse of the Damned (Cannot regenerate SP, MP, AP during combat)**  
**Burden of the Mighty (Cannot be healed by spells during combat)**

**Abilities: **  
**Piercing: Deal damage through armor**  
**Drain: Life steal 10% of damage dealt on a critical hit**  
**In my spirit lies my faith: Stronger than love and with me, it will be**  
**(When solo debilitating effects do not affect wielder during combat)**  
**(When in a party ATK is increased by 25% per party member, friendly fire active)**

**Special ability: Carnage (?)**

**Left hand: Pluto Militibus**  
**12000/12000**  
**ATK: 862**  
**Effects:**  
**Phys DEF +15%**  
**DEX + 2%**  
**Elemental damage +5%**  
**Abilities:**  
**Rapost**** chance.**  
**(5% chance to land a guaranteed hit on target after successful parry)**

**~ 0 ~**


	7. Chapter 7

Project Remnant

I do not own RWBY

~ 0 ~

"Thoughts"

"Speech"

'words with implied meaning.'

Regular text

**Menu info/ abilities, skills, combos**

**Enemy and ally info/ abilities, skills combos**

**"Disembodied voice/ Messages."**

**"Disembodied thoughts /Memories."**

~ Ch 7 ~

~, A friend in need is a friend indeed ~

Jaune kicked his shoes against the sidewalk as he came to a stop at the nearest crosswalk. The light was green, and the no walk indicator was flashing. He sighed, turning around as traffic flew by. He pulled out his phone and clicked it on. It was almost 9:00 pm, and he still hadn't gotten a notification from Blake or Scarlet. He pocketed his phone with a sigh and looked up.

"Huh." His eyes traveled over the engraved plaque bolted on the wall. He was standing just outside the south entrance to the cities public park. Granted, it wasn't much of a park. It was really only a giant augmented reality simulator that you could walk around in. You just walked up, put in your Citizen ID number, and then picked the simulation you wanted. Most people used it to experience walking through actual parks and forests. He'd used it for the same thing himself a few times. It brought him back to his childhood when he lived out in the countryside and had to get driven an hour to get to school.

The woods and forest around his house had been a comfort to him in his youth. He smiled to himself, remembering the days he'd spend exploring them. That old dirt road almost absorbed in foliage. The massive mansion deep in the woods. He'd always go there and play with Penny. Pain lanced his brain, feeling like a hot needle stabbing into the base of his skull as an image flashed through his mind. A bright smile and deep green eyes. He staggered, gripping his head.

"Wait. That. That can't be right." He felt his head pound, and he winced. "I just met Penny half a year ago, when dad told me she'd be there to help out for my last year of college. So I could focus on studying and tests." A couple of teenagers, wearing the same high school uniform he'd worn a few years ago, ran by nearly running into him. There was a boy and a girl. The boy chased the girl but stopped when she ran into the park. He typed in their numbers on the panel, the girl looking around like she was seeing something other than the drab gray surrounding her. She looked at the boy and waved at him. "Hurry up, John. Come on, let's go!"

The sharp pain grew ever more prevalent in his head. He looked up, blinking away tears from his watery eyes. He saw the two teens, but the girl looked different. No, everything looked different. There were tall trees all around her that faded in and out of focus. She giggled and waved at him, a large pink bow on her head that swayed as she bounced up and down. Come on, Jaune. It's this way."

"Penny?" He said in a subdued tone as he stumbled over to the panel. He fell against it clutching his head. He felt like something was boring into his brain, and he felt heat spreading through his skull. He felt like he was about to be sick and that happy giggling wouldn't stop. He felt someone grab his shoulder and pull on it. Suddenly everything stopped, from the pain in his head to nausea and the hallucinations. He spun around, pressing himself against the wall to the park, coming face to face with Sun Wu Kong. "Sun?" He said in a dazed tone.

His friend shot him a look of concern. "Hey Jaune, Are you alright? You look kinda out of it." He patted Jaune's arm and looked over into the park seeing the teens who'd just gone in.

Sun quirked a brow. "Thinking about love and girls?" He grinned at Jaune, who blinked and looked back over to the kids. He made to say something, but no words came out. "That bad, huh? Man, I told you you should just go for it. I mean, you aren't to bad with the ladies from what I've seen. Especially that beauty with the golden eyes." He finished in a whisper.

"Sun."

The other blond boy paused when Jaune called his name. He took in Jaune's appearance and noticed the distracted look about him. "What's up, man?"

Jaune looked away from the teens back to his friend, a confused look on his face. "Did we know anyone named Penny, when we were younger?"

Jaune looked back at the teens, missing the shocked look on Sun's face, or the fact that he stiffened up. Jaune kept watching the two kids walking around in the park and winced as he rubbed his temple. Sun looked around nervously while Jaune wasn't looking, trying to find something to use to change the topic. "What makes you ask something like that?"

Jaune took a breath and shrugged. "I don't know. I just...I get these flashes sometimes. And my maid. She."

Sun's eyes widened, and he grabbed onto that. "Whoa! You have a maid? No way, dude!"

Jaune lost his train of thought and looked back at Sun with a confused expression. "Yeah. I've had her for about six months now. I thought I'd told you?" He held his chin, trying to remember if he had. It was faint, but he definitely remembered telling Sun a couple of months ago in the library.

"Nope. You never did. Come on, man. Tell me. What's she like? Is she cute?"

Jaune was pulled from his thoughts by the random question and blinked at his friend. "Um." He paused. "Is Penny cute? I mean. She does look cute, I guess. The way she carries herself reminds me of mom a little too much, though. I feel kind of creepy thinking about her like that. Though she doesn't look like my mom at all. But she's not human either." He looked back over to Sun. Yeah, I guess she's cute."

Sun smacked his face and groaned. "Oh come on, Jaune, you have to have a real opinion. She's your maid for crying out loud."

He shrugged and pushed off the wall, making Sun step back. "Hey, I don't know, man. I just feel weird thinking about it. She's an android. It's kind of weird saying she's cute."

Sun rolled his eyes. "You know, by that standard, you shouldn't call anime and manga girls cute or sexy either, yet they are." He slapped Jaune's back and laughed. "It's a simple yes or no." Sun finished with a shrug as he threw an arm across Jaune's shoulders.

"Um. Then yes?"

Sun sighed and pulled Jaune along across the now lit up crosswalk. "Well, I guess that's an improvement. Can't say you aren't trying. I mean, you used to blush when people said swear words."

Jaune scowled at Sun. "Hey, I haven't done that for a long time."

Sun gave Jaune a flat look. "Freshman year in high school, Jaune."

Jaune looked down, heat rising in his cheeks. "Shut up."

Sun slapped a hand on his chest and laughed before he let go of his friend, skipping ahead a couple of steps before turning around and walking backward. "So. How are you doing? In the game, I mean. I know we couldn't meet up yesterday but we. I mean my guild and me. Got everything sorted out…mostly. So we can play today if you want."

Jaune stopped walking and gave Sun an awkward smile. "Um, sorry. I kind of promised Blake I'd play with her today. We can play tomorrow."

Sun almost tripped when Jaune said that. "Whoa whoa whoa whoa. You. Jaune Arc. The guy I had to convince to play with moi, is not only playing the game willingly, but you're meeting up with a total babe?" Sun put a hand over his heart and sniffed dramatically. "I'm so proud of you."

Jaune rolled his eyes and walked by Sun. "Yeah, whatever. Come on. I need to get back pretty soon. I'm just." Jaune's phone went off in his pocket, and he pulled it out, seeing a notification from the game. He tapped it, seeing a message from Blake just as one from Scarlet popped up, each showing their avatars face next to the text. He touched the one from Blake.

**Now…**  
**"Hey Jaune, I know we aren't too close, but I kind of."**

"Whoa!" Sun slid up next to Jaune, wrapping an arm around his shoulder, getting uncomfortably close while pulling the phone closer. "You got two hotties messaging you? You sly dog."

Jaune groaned and pushed Sun off of him before putting his phone away. "Yeah. I mean, no. I mean, they're both pretty cute but. Argh. Just shut up, Sun." He rubbed the bridge of his nose and sighed. "I gotta get home. Need to get back on the game."

Sun blinked at Jaune as a grin broke out across his face. "Oh, I understand. Say no more, let's go."

Jaune put his face in his hands and growled. "Sun, stop it. It's not like that."

Sun just shook his head and waved him off. "I'm just messing with you, man. I'm Just pleasantly surprised is all. I really am proud of you for going out and hanging out with people. It looks like you made a new friend too."

Jaune gave Sun a friendly smile and rolled his eyes. "If you say so. Oh yeah, I did hang out with Blake last night too. We hang out and watched movies all night."

Sun let go of Jaune and gave him a flat look. "You know you don't have to rub it in the right?"

Jaune shrugged with a smirk. "You know you don't have to tease me, right?"

Sun held his chin and gave Jaune a sideways glance. "Touche." Jaune grinned triumphantly as Sun went on. "So, what did you guys watch?"

Jaune smiled, eyes closed, and a finger pointing up. "We started the evening with the Silver Linings Playbook."

Sun gave Jaune a gaping look. "You watched a romance movie with her?"

Jaune frowned at Sun. "Hey, it's a good romantic comedy. One of my favorite movies. Besides, it's a classic."

Sun rolled his eyes. "Says who?"

Jaune pulled up his hand, ticking fingers off one by one. "The Museum of Cinematic History. It won an Oscar for best lead actress. It Had an Oscar nominee in every other category. Got a Golden Globe because of the lead actress, as well as the lead male getting a nominee for the Golden Globe and best screenplay nominees. It also won Several AACTA awards." Jaune looked over at Sun with a smug smile. "Besides, my parents love it, and it's the first movie they ever saw together."

Sun grinned and gave him a sly look. "Oh ho ho. Is Jaune trying to get a serious girlfriend?"

Jaune looked at Sun in confusion. "What?"

Sun put his arms behind his head and laughed. "You said Silver Linings Playbook was the first movie your parents saw together right." Jaune nodded. "Well, it's the first movie you watched with Blake too. There something you ain't telling me old buddy old pal?"

Jaune spluttered and pushed the Back of Sun's head. "What?! No way, man. It's just a good movie. Besides by that logic I'd be going for Yang and Ruby. I watched it with both of them too."

"You Bastard!"

Jaune jumped. "Huh?"

"You greedy, Bastard!"

Jaune couldn't even begin to figure out what Sun was on about as his friend poked his chest while glaring at him. "Not only are you going for the cities next lightweight champion, but also her little sister, the gaming prodigy, and the hottest pizza girl in town!"

Jaune was at a loss for words. He felt confused, shocked, and a little scared Sun had just shouted at him like that. He opened his mouth to retort and tell him he was getting the wrong idea when Sun grinned at him with a snicker. "You're a real jerk. You know that Sun?"

Sun, burst out laughing, grabbing his belly as he used the building next to them for support. "Dude, the look on your face." Sun wiped a tear away while trying to get a breath. "Priceless."

Jaune rolled his eyes and kicked Sun's ankle, making the boy drop and grab it in exaggeration. "Yeah. Guess I don't owe you anything anymore, huh? That means I don't."

He was cut off when Sun suddenly jumped and grabbed him by the shoulders. "Dude, I just remembered why I walked over to you!"

Jaune blinked a few times, feeling taken aback. "I. You. Wait. What? I, You had a reason for walking over other than to say hi?"

Sun clapped his hands together and got on his knees in a begging motion. "Jaune. You're my best friend in the whole wide world."

Jaune looked down at him with an unimpressed look. "After what you just did, I'm not so sure, and what about Neptune?"

Sun flinched. "My best friend, who isn't a self-proclaimed intellectual or a redemption-less horn dog?" He offered with a nervous smile and an uneasy chuckle.

Jaune folded his arms and shook his head. "What do you need? Old buddy old pal." Jaune said in a sarcastic tone.

Sun grinned up at him and hopped to his feet, dusting off his pants. "You know how I've been busy what with what happened in the game." Jaune nodded, and Sun took a deep breath speaking his next words very quickly. "CanIpleasecopyyourpaperforprofesorportsclasstomorrow?!"

Jaune let out a tired sigh as he pulled his report from his pocket, holding it out in front of himself. "What do you say?"

Sun's eyes twinkled, and he wiped away an imaginary tear. He took it gingerly and put a hand on Jaune's shoulder while sniffling. "I, I love you, man."

Jaune pushed Sun back and chuckled. "Yeah, no, thank you. I don't swing that way."

Sun scowled at Jaune. "Hey, fuck you."

Jaune walked past Sun and laughed loudly. "This gonna be a repeat of Friday?"

Sun spluttered while putting Jaune's paper in his pocket. "Hey, go fuck yourself, man."

Jaune waved over his shoulder as he headed back to his apartment. "Just make sure to change yours from mine, so we don't get called in again."

As Jaune walked off, Sun grumbled and made a point of kicking the trashcan next to him for dramatic effect, getting a laugh from Jaune just before he turned the corner. Once Jaune was out of sight, Sun's expression fell a bit. He took a deep breath and rubbed the side of his neck, looking back at the park with a frown. "Just try and stay happy, man. We don't need you falling apart." He looked up at the dark October sky and took a tired breath. "Not again."

~ 0 ~

Upon arriving at his apartment complex, Jaune paused as his phone went off. He pulled it out and saw that he'd gotten two more messages from Blake and winced. "I really should read them. Better get back and." He looked up, and his thoughts halted. Standing there at the entrance with her phone out was Blake Belladonna. She had a suitcase next to her, and she wore a worried expression. Blake looked up and scanned the area, her shoulders dropping in relief when their eyes met. She smiled at him, but it fell quickly afterward, and she made a face as she stood there. He quirked a brow and made his way over, wondering what she was doing here. "Um. Hey Blake. What's up, and why are you here…with a suitcase?" He asked, looking down at her suitcase.

She fidgeted while putting her phone away and sighed. "I guess that's a no then. Sorry. I'll just get going." She let out a tired sigh and grabbed the handle of her suitcase and turned to the only car parked in the front-drive.

Jaune opened his mouth, wondering what that was about as he watched her go, feeling like he'd missed something. He reached out and grabbed her suitcase handle. "Hey, Blake, wait. I have no idea what you're talking about. What's going on?"

Blake blinked and gave him a suspicious look. "What do you mean you don't know what's going on. I sent you a few messages, like an hour ago. It said you read it, but you never responded. I didn't know if you were ignoring me or if you were just busy. Since I don't have your number, I came to see you and ask in person, but you weren't here either. I've been waiting for about half an hour."

He looked at her in confusion. "I never got to read it. I was hanging out with my friend Sun, and I kinda got interrupted before I could." He pulled out his phone, and it opened up to the message from Blake.

**9:02 pm…**  
**"Hey Jaune, I know we aren't too close, but I kind of need a favor. I'll tell you more details when we meet up, but for now, I'll leave it at I need a place to stay for a couple of weeks. I already asked a few people, but they don't have an extra room or even a couch to spare. Let me know if you're willing to help me out."**

There was another.

**9:55 pm…**  
**"Um, Jaune. It's been almost an hour, and I haven't heard back from you. Everyone has to get out of their apartments. I've already gotten most of my stuff packed, but I don't know where I'll go. I already paid for this month's rent, and I can't afford a hotel.**

And another.

**10:17 pm…**  
**"Jaune, please. Answer me. I'm waiting outside your place right now. It's getting late, and I still haven't had any luck asking anyone else. You're the only person I know with a spare room or a couch even."**

Jaune closed the messages, letting his hand drop. He looked up at Blake, who was rubbing her arm and looking away with a frown on her face. He didn't know what to say. "I. Um. Well, I." He let out a breath and walked around to get in front of her. "What happened?"

Blake folded her arms and looked down at her feet with a dower expression. "I'll tell you if you agree to help, if not, I'll let you know when I know I won't be spending the night in my car."

He took a deep breath and looked over to her car. It wasn't a cheap-looking thing by any means, but It was…compact. The back seat looked barely big enough to fit three people, and that was without the two boxes, clothes hamper and another suitcase in there. The front seat had sports seats with harnesses installed, and the passenger seat was occupied by a crate and a rig along with a couple of monitors wrapped in bubble wrap. He blinked at the sight of everything and turned back to Blake. Had she been packing almost this entire time that they'd been logged out? And she hadn't asked for help? He didn't know what was going on, but he couldn't leave a friend hanging. His mom had always stressed the importance of being a reliable person and a good friend.

He let out the breath he'd been holding and returned his attention to Blake. "Blake." She looked up at him with a vulnerable expression. "It's alright." He gently took her wrist and removed it from her suitcase while offering her a warm, inviting smile. He nodded to her and tilted his head in that stupid way he did, making him resemble a loyal dog. "Welcome home."

She felt him put something in her hand, and she looked down. In her palm was a key. Her head snapped up, and she looked at Jaune with wide eyes, her expression one of shock as she stammered out a quiet, thank you. She watched him give her a nod and then head to the entrance of the complex, her suitcase in tow. She blinked a few times before shaking her head, walking after him. She knew he was a decent person and a great guy that always helped his friends out when and where he could, but she hadn't expected this. He'd just read her messages after admitting to not having read them, and then he just said welcome home. Not a yes, not maybe, no conditions. Just a smile and a key. It honestly made her worry about him if he would open his place up just like that, but she supposed it worked in her favor.

She smiled at the back of his head and quickly caught up to him, the both of them reaching the door at the same time she moved to open it, but without even batting an eye, he grabbed the handle and opened it for her with a crooked smile. She thanked him and slipped inside, quickly followed by him. The building wasn't any different from when she'd left this morning, but it certainly felt different now. Jaune walked past her, and she looked at his back when he paused. The blond looked to his right, and she followed suit as he waved at the lady behind the large ornate receptionists' desk. "Hey, Amber."

The woman looked up with an annoyed expression that quickly melted into a friendly smile. "Oh, hey. Good evening Jaune." She looked at him curiously and then down at the monitor in front of her. She scratched her cheek and looked back up. "You usually aren't out this late. Any particular…" The woman trailed off, seeing the suitcase next to him and just now noticing Blake standing next to him. Amber's smile brightened, and she gave him a thumbs up. "Well, Mr. Arc, I do believe congratulations are in order. And a suitcase means it's serious. Good job. Better than that blue-haired gigolo on the third floor."

Blake gaped at the woman behind the desk. Surely she wasn't supposed to speak about the tenants like that. She'd never really talked to her on her many deliveries either. Not to mention what she just said. Her and Jaune, a thing? They weren't even that close. Especially considering he didn't remember them being childhood friends. Blake raised her arms and waved her hands in rejection. "Sorry, you've got the wrong idea. I just need a place to stay for a couple of weeks, and Jaune's a friend, so I asked if he could…well."

She looked up at Jaune, who smiled back confidently and nodded before turning to Amber. "What she said." He looked back to Blake, offering an apologetic smile. "Sorry Blake, Amber, she likes to pry into everyone's love life. Don't let her bother you." He looked back over to the receptionist. "And Amber. Blake is just going to borrow my spare room for a bit until she gets her living situation sorted out."

Amber made a suggestive humming noise while leaning back in her chair. "Uh, huh. Two college students are moving in together in their last year of school. One of which delivers Pizza outside of the delivery range for the other. Not just that, but I saw you come in last night and leave earlier today." Amber leaned forward, resting her head on her hand with a grin tapping her fingers along her cheek. "Totally platonic, no doubt."

Blake flushed from the insinuation the woman made. She scowled back. Jaune sighed, wrapping an arm around her waist and dragged her to the elevators."Very funny, Amber. Don't turn my life or my friend's into your romantic comedy."

Amber waved at the two, giving Blake a thumbs up and a wink when she turned around to shoot her the glare she'd meant to. She opened her mouth in disbelief at the woman and made to flip her the bird, but Jaune pulled her arm down and guided her into the elevator. Blake huffed as she threw herself against the back wall, folding her arms while muttering quietly. Jaune shook his head and smiled as he typed in the code for his floor and hit the button to go up before he leaned against the adjacent wall giving Blake a half-smile. "Come on, Blake. Don't let her get to you. She means well. Besides, You've got a place to stay now, relax a little." He finished with a shrug.

Blake resisted the smile that fought its way to her face but lost and looked to the side so the blond dufus couldn't see it. She released a sigh and looked back at her friend with a half-lidded, annoyed expression and forced her smile down. "Shut up, Jaune." Her response was a quiet laugh that she hated to admit, but it made her smile just a slight bit more.

~ 0 ~

About forty-five minutes later, Jaune, found himself helping Blake finish setting up her rig after getting all of her things up to his apartment. It had been a rather quiet event with just the odd huff and grunt from either of them while moving things around with an occasional request from Blake to put something somewhere. They'd, or more so he had rearranged the room per her specifications, while she unpacked her stuff into the closet and what furniture she'd brought along with the spare furniture Jaune had in the place already.

It was a bizarre moment in his life, to say the least. He'd never really thought about what it would be like to have someone move in, but he'd imagined it to be a big thing. In reality, it had been rather anti-climactic. He shrugged as he stepped back from Blake's rig. "Alright. Well, that's everything, right?" Jaune asked while dusting his hands as he stepped back into the middle of his spare, er well, Blake's room. He looked around and hummed to himself.

Honestly, it seemed like Blake had more personality and stuff packed into the room he'd loaned her than he had in his entire apartment. Knick-knacks and photos were covering every shelf top and books of all genres filling said shelves. The bed, her new mattress, had been stripped of the bland gray and white sheets he'd had, and been replaced with purple and black silk ones. She'd asked if she could use the pillows, and of course, he'd agreed not seeing a reason not to, and so she tossed out her old ones after taking the pillowcases off them. They were the same color scheme as the bedding.

She'd replaced the bedside lamp, now sitting in the living room, with an ornate black and purple light that she could bend towards the bed for reading purposes. The alarm clock she'd decided to let stay, but the curtains and the door placard had been switched for her own. She'd even had a thick, plush, fuzzy rug rolled up in the trunk of her car that now lay across the foot of the bed on the right side of it. Jaune leaned backward, looking out the door and folded his arms. From where he stood, he could see the shoe rack Blake had brought and how she'd put his three pairs of shoes on it along with her's and sixteen other pairs. He would never understand women and their many shoes.

Next to that was an umbrella bucket with both of their umbrellas in it. Blake even brought a welcome home mat. He looked over at her and took a breath while watching her finish making minor adjustments to her set up before turning to face him. She dusted her pants off and looked up at him curiously. "What?"

He walked backward out of the room and looked into his bedroom and then around the living room, which had a few more of her things as well. Then he made his way back into her room and looked back at her with an amused expression. "Blake. I'm going to be honest with you. It looks like you're the one who lives here, and I'm the one borrowing a room."

She looked up at him and flushed in embarrassment, turning to her new desk and her rig to avoid eye contact. She didn't know what to say. It was a bizarre situation she'd admit. She'd just moved all of her things into his apartment, and it was a lot. Not to mention it seemed like a whole lot more than it was because Jaune apparently didn't own much outside of necessities. He seemed to focus on the essentials and practical things like basic furniture, hygiene, towels, linens, dishes, and cooking utensils.

It made her feel like a kid in comparison, what with her colorful and hobby oriented belongings. You could look around and tell she loved the color Black and purple as well as books and animals. Earlier, she'd asked Jaune if he had a spare shelf for games because she'd used an alcove in her apartment to store her's. He said to grab the one in his room. To her horror and chagrin, he'd had a grand total of 3 games, while she, on the other hand, owned about 15.

Not only that, but she'd brought a rice cooker, which he already had a better version of. A grand total of two bowls, one plate, a handful of forks, spoons, and butter-knives, none of which matched, and a pan — no cups or glasses. Jaune, on the other hand, had a fully stocked kitchen. He'd told her she could keep her kitchen things packed and just use his. It felt a little bit like what she imagined moving back home would have felt like. "Um. I'm sorry. I can pack up and look for somewhere else if I'm bothering you." She said while avoiding looking at him.

To her surprise, Jaune started laughing, and she heard the bed shift. Looking up, she saw him smiling at her while stretching out on the bed as he let out a yawn. "It's alright, Blake. I just thought it was ironic. You're welcome here. I don't want you to leave or anything like that." He sat up and patted the spot next to him and nodded his head. "Besides, I'd be a complete jackass if I let you move in just to kick you out because you've got more personality than me." He grinned. "Come on, take a seat. You still haven't told me what happened that made you have to leave your apartment."

She just looked at Jaune like he was some kind of exotic animal. He just didn't let anything phase him. She sighed. He was really throwing her off. People like him were few and very far between. It warmed her heart that he was such a great person. She did get that nagging in the back of her head that made her wonder what happened to him. It was subtle, but even without being told, she could see he was rarely in high spirits, just going through the motions, day in and day out while trying to keep his friends.

He was still the same Jaune she grew up with and went fishing with during their families' joint vacations, but something was off. He was a lot more guarded and careful with what he said, and not in a mature way but in an antisocial way. Like he was afraid of saying the wrong thing. The way he'd handled the lady, Amber, downstairs wasn't rude, but he didn't talk that way usually. The way he'd kept such a pointless secret earlier and argued with her over it was just one more indicator. To top that, she couldn't help but notice that out of all the guys she knew, including the gay David Scarlet, that Jaune showed next to no interest in relationships outside of friendship.  
With that in mind, the situation with Ruby and Yang was an anomaly. It was almost like he wanted to avoid them to stop worsening the situation.

She shook her head, clearing it of her musings, and walked over to take the seat next to Jaune, before crossing her legs and propping her head on her hand. "Well, the story isn't too interesting. The owner ran off with everyone's rent for this and last month during the night. The authorities came in just after I logged off earlier. They told everyone we had to vacate immediately for safety purposes. Apparently, the owner was involved in some shady stuff."

Jaune quirked a brow. "Oxymoron much?"

Blake smirked at him and slapped his arm. "Shut it. I'm trying to tell you what happened. Besides, it's not an oxymoron its irony. All I meant was you shouldn't worry about it."

Jaune rubbed his arm and smiled at Blake, but she could tell his heart wasn't in it. He sighed and shook his head as he put a hand on her shoulder. "Blake. Of course, I'm going to worry. I'm your friend. Not just that, but you lost your place, and it wasn't your fault. I. I just hope you're taking this seriously, Blake. It's not like my situation in the game."

Blake looked at him in surprise, a heat slowly creeping up her cheeks. She grimaced and looked away, punching him in the arm this time. "I said, don't worry about it. I'm doing alright." She took a calming breath and smiled while looking around the room. "I've got a pretty good friend I can rely on after all."

Jaune rubbed his arm with a wince. "Alright, I trust you. But I have a question." She looked at him curiously. "Why do you keep hitting me? First, last night with the kicks and then this morning with the choke-hold, and now you're slapping me and punching me? Abuse, I say," He said with a small smirk as he tapped her head with his middle and index fingers.

She swatted his hand away, unable to stop the eye roll she gave him or the bright smile that came to her lips as she let out a light giggle. "Jaune, stop it. I'm serious here."

Jaune folded his arms and nodded several times with his eyes closed. "Mm-hmm. So am I." Blake flicked his nose and mock glared at him, trying to keep a straight face, but he just leaned back with a grin while rubbing his nose and then poked her nose gently. "P.S. …smile, Blake."

That did it. Blake just couldn't fight the full-blown smile from spreading across her face as she rubbed her nose. She shook her head as she took a breath, wondering where Jaune had been for the past ten years of her life. "That's cheating."

Jaune shrugged while watching her with a lazy expression. "I'd say it worked. You're actually smiling like usual now."

She punched his side playfully as she stood up and moved over to her rig. She picked up her AVRH and tossed it up, catching it while shooting him a confidant smirk. "My hero. Thank you for saving this fair lady's smile." She moved to the bed, putting on the headset before glancing at him through the tinted visor wearing a smirk. "Well, dork night. Are you ready to get back in the game? It's already 11:00 we've got about an hour until the event starts. Well, two since we use the central server while we're east. We need to pick up my gear too."

Jaune gave her a thumbs up and nodded as he got off the bed to let her lie down. "Before she hit the power button on the side, he grinned and saluted her. "See you on the flip side, Kitkat." Blake opened her mouth to tell him off about the nickname, but she'd hit the power button already, and the feeling of her body becoming weightless took over as she fell back, and everything went dark.

He smiled at her and shook his head. She really was pretty fun to mess with, granted he'd probably get punched for it again, but it was worth it. After all, friends teased each other, right? On his way out of her room, he glanced around at everything. It really was funny how she had so much stuff compared to him. Then again, it was hard to collect things you liked when you couldn't remember half of your youth. Hobbies and likes were hard to build on when you had memory loss from head trauma. Sometimes he found himself jealous of other people for having so many likes and hobbies. It was funny, but one of the reasons he liked Ren so much was how the boy was very spartan in his lifestyle.

"That reminds me. I should get in contact with Nora and try to." He paused. There on the bookshelf, by the door, stood several photos. One that he hadn't noticed before. In the picture, there were five people. The most notable was a much younger Blake, maybe around 7 or 8. Her parents were sitting behind her on the left of the photo. On Blake's other side next to her parents was a woman who's head was out of frame with only her long blond hair hanging down into the picture.

What threw him off was the young blond boy that Blake was practically on top of. He was almost pushed out of the frame because she was pushing his head down to be the center of attention in the photo, but there was no mistaking it. "Is that?" Jaune felt the same pain shoot through his head from when he'd been in front of the park. He rubbed his temple and grimaced. "Whatever. I need to get in the game."  
He left her room and closed the door before he headed into his own.

~ 0 ~

When Jaune opened his eyes, the first thing he saw was the sign hanging outside of Scarlet's shop where he'd logged out earlier. "Huh. So the game does log you back in where you logged out. That's actually pretty convenient." He folded his arms and thought about it for a second. "But thinking on it, if the power cuts out in the middle of a mob or if someone logs out in the field where a mob used to be, it could get annoying."

Just then, there was a shout from the shop that pulled him from his musings. "Oh shit, that's right." He quickly moved towards the shop and pushed the door open to find Scarlet, and Blake, glaring at each other.

~ 0 ~

"What do you mean I can't have it. The gear is mine, and you know it!" Blake shouted at Scarlet, who stood behind her counter with her arms folded.

Scarlet glared right back and shook her head. "Sorry, they may be for you, but as far as I'm concerned, they belong to Jaune because he's the one who paid for them, and he's the one who set up the deal." Scarlet put her hands on her hips and huffed. "If you don't like it, love, then tough."

Blake crossed her arms across her chest and narrowed her eyes at the bunny Faunus. "He's going to be here any second now. Can't you just hand them over so I can equip them before he does show up? I don't wanna." They were cut off by the jingle of the bell above the door.

The two turned to see Jaune standing there with an awkward look on his face. He smiled sheepishly and walked in. "So. What are we shouting about?" He asked as he got to the counter, his gaze shifting between the two.

Blake put her hands on her hips, mirroring Scarlet but avoided Jaune's gaze. "She won't give me the armor or the weapons. Said she wanted to wait for you to get here even though they're for me."

Scarlet narrowed her eyes and folded her arms as Blake had earlier. "Well, it's only right that I wait for the person who paid for them. I sent him a message earlier asking if I should just give them to you, but he never responded, so I decided to wait."

Jaune flushed and reached to rub the back of his head but stopped at the look Blake gave him. Angling his hand to his cheek, he scratched that instead and gave a nervous chuckle. "Sorry, I didn't read it. I was sort of busy with Bla- I mean Bella's, um. Well, I'm here now, can't the two of you just let bygones be bygones and let it go?"

Scarlet raised an eyebrow at the little slip. He'd almost used what must have been her real name, and he mentioned helping her after she'd logged out. Did these two know each other IRL? Scarlet glanced at Blake before fixing her gaze on Jaune along with the other girl. They stared at him for a few seconds before they both let out a breath and relaxed. They glanced at each other and then back and nodded. Jaune grinned at them with a relieved expression. "Great. Glad that's worked out."

Scarlet sighed and shook her head while smiling as she turned and made her way to the back. "I'll get the gear. You two just wait here for a second. I'll be back in two shakes."

As she disappeared into the backroom, Jaune stepped over to Blake, and she frowned at him. He looked down at her nervously and gave a weak laugh. "What's up, Blake?" She turned to face him, looking deep into his eyes with an annoyed expression on her face. She punched him in the gut, making him double over and cough. *Cough cough* "Why?" He asked in a strained voice.

She turned away from him and the counter with folded arms. "I told you not to call me Kitkat."

Jaune rubbed his gut and smiled. "Sorry, not sorry. The look on your face when you realized what I said was pretty cute, though. It was worth it."

Blake pulled her hand back to sock him again and opened her mouth to tell him off about the whole flirting thing when a cough sounded from behind her. She quickly dropped her arm and spun around, coming face to face with a brightly smiling Scarlet. "Here you are. This is everything." Blake looked down at all of the equipment on the counter, and her eye's widened. It looked amazing.

"Talk about fashion Remnant," Jaune said from behind Blake, who nodded in agreement.

Scarlet grinned and folded her arms while puffing her chest out. "I worked hard on these. I modified them a lot. I did away with the leather plates for the armor and exchanged them for actual steel to give you better puncture and slash resistance. You won't need the magic defense that leather grants because the crystal level is maxed due to the SDCs infused into them. I also took the liberty to dye them. After you left, Jaune, mentioned how you prefer Black and Purple over the browns, reds, and grays usually associated with leather and cloth armor.

Blake nodded while looking down at the armor, her hands sliding over the slick, cold steel in awe at the change to the gear. "How did." She looked over her shoulder at Jaune, who was smiling at her and tapped his head. (Italicized - "Of course I'd told him about my favorite colors before, and it would be like him to remember and put in that request for me.") She smiled at him. "Only you, Jaune."  
He gave her a curious look, and she just tilted her head, using the 'happy' emote to make her cat ears twitch. "I appreciate it." He flushed and looked away, offering her a, you're welcome.

Scarlet cleared her throat, drawing the attention of her two customers back to her and the equipment. "Okay, so a bit about the product, before you get it equipped. That way, you know what to expect. Now you know more or less what the dagger and short sword do. The only changes I made to those were reforging them."

She pulled the dagger and short sword out, putting them in front of Blake. The dagger's blade was now a single edge and about the length of her forearm. The metal was two-tone with the body being a reflective silver and the keen edge a dark purplish-black that swirled while glowing dimly. The handle was a swirl of black iron that extended into the pommel. The knives hilt was small with something resembling a gun trigger hanging below. Scarlet pointed at it and grinned. "That part right there is new. If you pull it while it's stabbed into someone, it'll extend the blade just a bit, and the game will register it as a second hit and an automatic critical hit."

Blake's eyes widened, and she picked it up in awe while pulling the trigger seeing it shoot out a couple of inches before quickly retracting. Scarlet folded her arms and smirked before nodding down at the short sword. It was a double edge with a flat square top and one of the sides going all the way down to the bottom of the handle with no pommel. It extended the blade to act as a punching weapon and doubled as a full handguard. It was a sleek shiny black with several diagonal grooves near the handle. Its length was almost the length of Blake's arm. This one also had a trigger on it, and Blake looked up with a curious expression after seeing it.

Scarlet held out her hands, asking for the dagger, and Blake handed it back. "Now, this is something new that came out in the latest update. It's a mecha-shift weapon. It works in tandem with the dagger, like this." She pulled the trigger on the short-sword, and there was a click. Scarlet then slid the dagger into a slot on the bottom of the sword that Blake had missed, then the girl pulled the trigger on the knife, and the blade shot up into the sword and pulled it back down. There was another click, and the grooves near the swords handle extended out a couple of inches, each revealing three white strips of metal the glowed, and Scarlet smiled.

"They can be connected and turned into a straight sword. This is kind of broken, in my opinion, and I'm sure the devs will patch it sooner or later because this adds the attack of the weapons and stacks their abilities. It also has the function of adding another unrelated ability without taking up an upgrade slot. When it's a straight sword, it gets the extra ability to deal increased damage based on how many negative status effects are afflicting the target and augmenting magic, like a flame sword, etc. Now to be upfront, they did drop in damage a little bit, but their debuff effects went up to 99%. So now the short sword will always chip away at armor, and the dagger will always do piercing damage. And you got another weapon for free!" The bunny girl chirped.

She set the weapon down on the table and took a breath. "If you go up against anyone with low durability, defense, and resilience, you'll make short work of them if you land a direct crittical — a real assassin. I think the only classes you'd have problems with are high evasion classes like yourself, or tanks and brawler types. But when you go up against those classes turning it into a sword and augmenting it with magic will help against people with low magic defense."

Scarlet smiled down at the weapons with a faraway look in her eyes. "Just about any class in the game will fall to you in a straight one on one with the right skills if you're good. Honestly, I think magic assassin builds are going to become the meta soon. With all the new updates coming out recently and the ones lined up, I wouldn't be surprised if everyone picked up a magic subclass or magic variants to their job extensions."

Blake's expression brightened at Scarlet's words, and she reached down, picking up the sword. So far, Scarlet was right about the meta, which is why she was building towards a magic scrapper of sorts. With a weapon like this, they just might be able to get this mark taken care of now. Magic damage, armor damage, and piercing. Plus, she was a hard hitter. But the weapon seemed too perfect. Like it was made just for her. She looked up, meaning to ask how she knew how to make the weapon the way she did only to see Scarlet grinning at her. The arms and armor maker's grin turned into a smug smile. "I took the liberty of using a new skill I got after meeting Jaune, to check your character out. I designed the weapon and armor for your character specifically, so it fits what it looked like you were building." Blake narrowed her eyes at that, feeling a little self-conscious now and glanced at Jaune, who smiled sheepishly and offered her a shrug. She returned her attention to Scarlet and asked what those modifications were. Scarlet clapped her hands together and beamed. "Well, thanks to Jaune's help, I found myself with an abundance of experience, and so I bought every skill I could that's related to identifying items, NPCs, environments, and characters."

She held up a hand against her tilted head with a v for victory gesture. "I'm officially this games number one outfitter and resource gatherer now. At least in abilities and skills anyways," She said with a happy shrug. "So, as I was saying. Using a new skill, I saw that you're a rogue who job extended into an Assassin with a secondary class in Blade Brandier with a job extension into a Curse Knight."

Blake eyed her warily as Scarlet folded her arms and hummed with an impressed look while tapping her chin. "I was surprised. Not even level 200 yet, and you've got two job extensions already. You either have someone telling you how to build, you're fortunate, or you're just that good. Either way, you're doing great, and so I figured with the way you were going, you'd job extension the assassin to a ninja and then Curse Knight into Dark Knight, class meld it with Ninja, and become either a Witch Blade or a Wave Knight."

Blake blinked in surprise as Scarlet continued. "Well, with that in mind, I made the perfect gearset for either of those classes. So if you ever build up to them, you can stick with this and never worry about getting new things, just upgrading," Scarlet finished with a nod as she patted the breastplate. "Now come on, try it on. I wanna see how it'll look on you." Scarlet almost squealed. "I've never seen someone wear a full set of crystal armor. It's supposed to have a visual effect on it that can give advantages in combat or be flashy to show off In town. I want to see, I want to see. Please, ~?"

Blake looked at Scarlet feeling a bit overwhelmed, and a bit insecure knowing this girl could find out so much about her character with whatever skills it was she'd gotten. After a second, she let out a breath and nodded while thanking the other girl. She reached up and opened her inventory, but before she pressed anything else, she turned to see Jaune watching intently. "Jaune, turn around so I can unequip everything and equip the new stuff."

Jaune blinked at her and stood up straight. "What? Why?"

Scarlet and Blake flushed with the latter letting out a tired sigh while gesturing to herself and Scarlet. "Well, the Faunus race is a fanservice avatar. It doesn't get class bonuses or even a special advantage in any craft like the Elven, Dragoon, Witch, or Demon races. They were added in after the second month as popular demand, and they keep adding in different sub-species so they can't balance special skills for them all."

Scarlet nodded and continued for Blake. "So in short, our avatars are purely for cosmetic purposes. Not just that, but our avatars, the Faunus in general, have rather risque default clothes, because of some perverted design choices."

Blake folded her arms, watching Jaune intently. "Like she said. What makes things worse is how most people model their avatars after themselves, so." Blake trailed off and looked away from him with a red tint in her cheeks. "I don't wanna show you what I look like in my underwear because my character is modeled after me." Jaune had a surprised look on his face and couldn't resist the dip his gaze took. He flushed while checking her out, then slapped himself mentally for checking out his friend and turned on his heel before making a beeline for the door saying he'd wait outside.

Blake covered her chest with an arm and growled at the fact he'd just checked her out and waved a fist after him. "Look through the store window, and you die, Arc!" He tripped on a barrel and almost fell over but caught himself and looked back to see Blake unequip her breastplate and expose a thin, low-cut, white blouse that just showed a tight black silky bra underneath. He paused, and the two girls looked back at him. Blake shouted at him to get out. He stuttered out a 'Yes ma'am!' while pulling his hood over his eyes, slamming the door shut with a loud crash after he slipped out.

Blake huffed and unequipped the rest of her things while examining the armor on the counter before putting it in her inventory to equip it. "He's a bang-up guy, likes to tease and can appreciate a pretty girl, but he's bashful in a cute way. Not to mention he was willing to give up so much for a friend," Scarlet said as she rested her elbow on the counter as she watched the door. Blake shot Scarlet a curious look out the corner of her eyes and turned to face her as she quipped the new gear. "He's also charming in a friendly way, and he doesn't mind helping people out. I wonder if he'd join my guild?"

Blake finished putting on her new equipment and frowned at Scarlet's comments. "If you're interested in him then ask, I'm sure he'd agree. It's just the kind of guy he is." She adjusted the armor straps and shifted them around until it felt right. She nodded and turned to look at herself in the mirror Scarlet had set up by the counter. She was impressed.

The clothes that Velvet had provided for the armor to replace her old blouse and skirt were a silk and cotton dress. Cloth hung down to her knees in the front and back while leaving slits up the sides that reached the top of her hip. The front of the dress had a part over her chest that was made of a thick, sturdy cotton that cupped her breasts and held them in a place like a bra while the rest of the dress was solid black silk. The cloth near her throat folded over into a collar, protecting her from the metal of the breastplate.

The rest of the dress wrapped tightly around her neck, reaching her jaw and the base of her head. It left the shoulders and the small of her back exposed. The clothes included a pair of white silk arm sleeves that went up to armpits and stopped at her palms. Included was a pair of black silk stockings that went up to her mid-thigh with a garter belt that was hidden by the dress for the most part.  
All in all, it was comfy and very sexy if she was honest. It also felt similar to her sleeping yukata. She really liked it.

As for the armor, It was all a dark black, and she really liked that part. The cuirass was form-fitting in the right places with a good amount of space in the breast area to avoid pain from taking a hit. It was practical, unlike a lot of the gear she'd seen some girls playing wear. The armor was angular in design with several layered plates around the waist and back that added to the aesthetic. Several plates were made to slide and overlap to allow for high flexibility along with angled parts that would stop blades and such from glancing off and pushing up to her head or her shoulders. There was also a tace with tullies that wrapped around her waist and covered her exposed thighs. To her delight, there was a dark purple cloth that hung from the sides and back, adding a little extra cover.

The arms were covered in epaulieres that only covered the sides of her shoulders and wrapped around her upper arms. What covered her shoulders was a black cloth that wrapped around her arms, meeting in the back. It laced through the cuirass, running down until connecting at the small of her back folded into a large bow, covering the hole in the dress. Her left arm had an elbow guard, bracers, and a gauntlet that all shared the uniform angular design of the armor, while her right arm only had the shoulder and gauntlet. Both hands had black leather gloves with plates attached to protect the tops of her hands and her fingers, with the plates on the fingertips extending into short claws.

To her delight and surprise, the leg armor was very stylish and functional. They were comprised of black, four or five-inch, thigh-high, heeled leather boots that left some of her stockings showing. The boots had straps and plates attached to them. The knee guards were made of plate armor as well with the same angular design as the rest with cotton cushioning inside so she wouldn't feel the floor when she dived and rolled around during combat. Connected to them was a part that went up to her thighs, stopping a few inches below her boots and stockings. The grieves wrapped around her legs. Much like the cuirass, they had layered plates around the knee and ankle as well as above her feet. The sollerets were pointed and had plates covering the top of her feet that angled over the leg armor.

Scarlet clapped while beaming at Blake. "It looks amazing on you, but you're missing this, here. It's a gift from Jaune. He bought it and asked me to upgrade it for you too. It's got a 22% chance of nullifying all detrimental status effects." Scarlet held out a black ribbon to Blake, who looked at it curiously before taking it. She put it in her inventory and equipped it. Blake felt her hair shift and looked in the mirror to see it appear in a loose bow hanging behind her head. She smiled at her reflection. A few cherry blossoms started appearing in the air around her and fall to the floor before disappearing. "Ooh, That's a unique aura effect."

Blake nodded as she ran her hands through her hair and fluffed it up, admiring herself. She really liked the way she looked and moved it a bit, adjusted the way it set across her body. Blake continued this until everything felt just right. She wondered what Jaune would think. She finally reached up and touched the bow. "You know, he designed that himself. Told me how he wanted it to look when equipped. Said you would like it."

Blake's hand dropped from the bow, and she looked over at Scarlet. She smiled to herself and then looked back into the mirror. "Thank you, Jaune."

"Don't mention it, Blake. It suits you really well. Beautiful in a word."

The two girls whirled around to see Jaune leaning on one of the shelves with a happy expression on his face. Blake felt her stomach fill with butterflies at the compliment but pushed the feeling down. "What are you doing here? I could have still been changing."

Jaune held up his hands and smiled sheepishly. "Well, it's a game, so changing doesn't take to long for one, two I knocked and called, but neither of you answered, so I just came in. You guy's didn't hear the bell?" He asked while pointing a thumb over his shoulder.

The two flushed, with Scarlet bashfully tapping the tips of her fingers together while Blake folded her arms. The pale amber-eyed beauty scowled at him, making him sweat a bit. "Whatever." She looked away with a mixed expression. "I told you to save the compliments for your girlfriend. when you get one anyways."

The blond knight held his hands up in surrender. "Sorry, sorry. I don't want to fight. It was an honest compliment. I believe that when a girl gets a new look or tries to look pretty, you should let her know. If you like it, you should be honest too. Least, that's what my sisters told me."

Blake sighed and let her head fall in defeat. He just had to add in that last part. "I know you mean it, Jaune. It's just." She looked out the shop window and smiled weakly. "I've never been good with compliments, but I'm flattered. Thank you."

Scarlet made a humming noise, and the two turned to see her smiling at them. Jaune rubbed his chin and walked up next to Blake and looked at the rabbit Faunus curiously, asking her what she was smiling for. The shop owner stood up straight and put her hands in her back pockets as she shook her head. "Mm, nothing. Nothing you need to worry about anyways," She finished while glancing at Blake with a small curl to her lips. He shrugged, offering a friendly smile as he took a couple of steps back and reaffirmed that he'd keep his end of the deal about the other items they talked about.

"I'll see you later, Scarlet." He turned to leave and walked to the door while Blake stayed behind, looking at Scarlet suspiciously. The bell to the door jingled, and Jaune stepped outside, turning to look back at his friend and waved. Blake glanced from Scarlet to him and then back to the girl, but decided that Scarlet's comment hadn't meant anything.

Just as she made to head for the door, Scarlet grabbed her arm, making her turn her attention back to the rabbit Faunus. "If you aren't careful, someone else is gonna steal him."

Blake pulled her arm back and narrowed her eyes at the other girl. "What's that supposed to mean," She said in a cold tone. Scarlet gave her an unimpressed look and then glanced at Jaune before returning her attention to Blake. The cat Faunus rolled her eyes and let out an annoyed breath. "What makes you think that I'm interested in Jaune, at all?"

Scarlet raised an eyebrow and folded her arms. "I've seen a lot of people come and go through that door. Every time they make sure they look cool, not pretty for their partner."

Blake glared at the outfitter and took a step back. "Stop reading into things. I was just fixing the equipment."

Scarlet smiled. "Says the girl who didn't adjust the bow from her boyfriend. But if he isn't, and you aren't interested, then you wouldn't mind if I asked him out then. Say to tonight's festival event?"

Blake paused, her eyes wide as she worked her mouth, but she couldn't find anything to say. To her luck, Jaune called out to her, drawing both of their attention to him. She shut her mouth and looked back at Scarlet with an angry expression. "Thanks for the hard work." And with that, she left.

Scarlet watched Blake walk out with a huff but offered a wave to Jaune, who returned it with a bright smile. His companion grabbed his shoulder and pulled him away. Scarlet watched the two walk by the store window noting how Blake was walking closer to Jaune than when they'd come in before. It was closer than people usually did, to begin with, and now it looked like they were together. Her smile fell, and she leaned on her counter, placing her chin in her hand as she closed her eyes, smiling to herself. "Maybe I will ask him."

~ 0 ~

Jaune was feeling pretty good. The morning had started nice, what with his breakfast with Blake. The afternoon not so much with the girl who attacked him in-game, and then the fight he'd had with Blake. Meeting up with Ren, Coco, and Sun had been short, but pleasant and he felt at ease knowing things between him, Coco, Ren, and Nora at least, were just as they had been. Even waiting for Scarlet to finish upgrading and outfitting Blake's new equipment had been worth it. He looked down at his companion in her new gear and smiled. She really did look good, to begin with, but now. Now she was just wow.

Blake glanced up at him and met his appraising look with an uncomfortable one before glancing away. He frowned at her reaction just before her fist shot out and smacked his shoulder, making him stumble. He rubbed his arm and asked her what the hell that was for with a wide-eyed expression. Blake's gaze drifted over to him again, and she pursed her lips while folding her arms. "That's for embarrassing me in front of a stranger, and for calling me beautiful so nonchalantly." She turned to face him and punched his shoulder again. "You can't just say things like that out loud, because it'll make women feel self-conscious." She sighed and rubbed her forehead. "You really can be dense sometimes, Jaune.

Jaune let his hand drop from his shoulder as he took a breath. He looked away and shrugged while offering her an apology. "Look, Blake. I apologize for making you feel uncomfortable. I didn't mean to make you feel like that. I just. I really did mean it, you know. You look beautiful." She shot a scowl at him from over her shoulder, and in an angry tone, she told him to just stop. He flinched back and held his hands up in a placating manner. "Alright. I'll stop." He looked down and to the side with a sour look, letting out a tired breath. "Let's just go."

Blake stopped in her tracks, feeling a little guilty about snapping at him and hitting him. He wasn't like Adam or Weiss' ex Neptune. Jaune threw compliments around like they were going out of style. He did it because he was honest and a kind person at heart. He didn't deserve the spite she was throwing at him. It was just tricky hearing compliments on her appearance after what Adam would say to her. The devil had a silver tongue, or so they say. She turned to look up at Jaune, and took a deep breath, closing her eyes before looking down and exhaling. "Jaune. I appreciate the compliments, but…" She paused. She didn't want to bring Adam up, and he didn't need to know. She took another breath and offered him a friendly smile. "Could you please stop. I'm not your girlfriend, and it comes off as disingenuous. It feels similar to how Weiss' old boyfriend Neptune would compliment every girl he came across".

Jaune blanched and quickly shook his head. "Blake, I'm not like Neptune, I didn't mean to come off as a prude just throwing compliments around. I was trying to be nice while being honest, but when you put it like that, I feel like a jerk now. Since you want me to stop, I will." She eyed him suspiciously for a few seconds before a smile spread across her features. She nodded and then turned around, heading off with a lighter step and waved for him to follow, and the two of them headed off.

~ 0 ~

To Jaune's concern, before the two of them left the city Blake, had told him that if they were going to make it back in time for the opening of the festival event tonight, then they'd have to finish this up asap. He'd wondered just how they were going to do that as they stepped out of the city. Blake's answer was to hand him a whistle from her inventory. She told him to blow it before doing so with her own. He looked down at it and shrugged before following suit. To his surprise, a couple of horses appeared from the stable near the gate and trotted over to them. A brown and white dappled one stopping in front of Blake while a solid gray one stopped in front of himself. He remembered Blake laughing at the look on his face as he patted it and got on his own. He'd done the same thing Sun had done to him earlier and sniffed, faking a tear while telling Blake he loved her. She'd spluttered and told him to shut up, but damn was it funny. He completely understood why Sun did it to people now.

After a little over half an hour of hard riding, and avoiding mobs, the two made it to the top of a hill with a road that led down to the small port town of Cliffside. There was a bend in the dirt road that led to a tree line. Said treeline obstructed the line of sight of the city, but from their vantage point atop the hill, Jaune and Blake could see the beginnings of the latest attack on one of the caravans making their transit from the town to Vale. A carriage and a couple of carts stood in a semi-circle with a few players and a couple of NPCs standing with weapons out. A few torches had been thrown around to increase the field of vision with a bonfire at the center. A knife that flew from the treeline found its mark in the chest of a girl wielding a katana.

Several of the players down the hill screamed or backed away from the instantly downed player, and Jaune winced as he glanced over at Blake. "So, I take it that our target is down there?" Jaune asked with trepidation. Blake nodded and dug her heels into her mount as she let out a 'ha' and went shooting down the road towards the caravan under attack. Jaune let out a tired sigh and looked up into the almost pitch-black sky. "I've got a really bad feeling about this." With that, he dug his heels into his mount and followed after Blake.

**~ 0 ~**

**Authors Notes**

**Well, I'm back. Last time I was active, I got a friend to help me with editing and such so hell yeah. I was hoping to start moving forward faster, but when I sent her all of my rough drafts, the file got corrupted somehow, and my little brother deleted everything on my PC to download Minecraft and Warframe.**

**Over 70 pages of details on all my stories like plot and events… gone. All of it. I wanted to cry. But I couldn't let you, readers, down. I know the stories are different, and from what I hear Pretty good. Good things are hard to find, so I put in some extra work to try and get everything back or rewritten.**

**As of now, I've got this, and the next chapter for this story ready, and next is The Dying Light of A Borrowed Star, ch 6, followed by When things are the other way around, ch 2. Those two are almost done, and then I'll be dropping the next ch for MY persona crossover fic along with the first chapter of Cinder's story. I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and I hope you enjoy the next, which should be up in a couple of hours once I get it from my friend.**

**~ 0 ~**

**Now for this story specifically, I am going back and changing the format of a couple of things on the recommendation to clean up the stories, so there's less to read in terms of repetitive information. Like only posting things that change with Jaune's avatar after ch 2. Such as EXP and getting new skills/ abilities.**

**As a parting question to my readers, would you like to see other characters' stats and skills at the end of chapters or only Jaune's? And would a separate post with the skills/ abilities and details be preferred?**

**Now, this little bit will be for Blake's new equipment. I kept her weapon/s the same for the most part but made the mecha-shift more simplistic for now. As for her armor, I have a few history buff friends who were telling me that wearing plate and even full plate armor isn't heavy or weighs you down much. Something about being able to sprint and do flips in it with the right sets and practice. With that in mind and a few hours of research, I felt the design I settled on for Blake's equipment fits well. It'll change periodically through the story, but I plan on making it like anime/ manga where outfit changes symbolize character growth.**

**Finally, after taking so much time to go over my ideas and having to rewrite them, I figured a better way to write the story for ch 7 8 and 9 would be to spread out ch 7 to 7 & 8 to add a better fight scene than making Ch 9 longer. So to the people, I promised a lighthearted end to ch 7 and a happy 8th chapter it's been changed to those as mentioned earlier.**

**Till next time.**

**~ 0 ~**


	8. Chapter 8

Project Remnant

I do not own RWBY

~ 0 ~

"Thoughts"

"Speech"

'words with implied meaning.'

Regular text

**Menu info/ abilities, skills, combos**

**Enemy and ally info/ abilities, skills combos**

**"Disembodied voice/ Messages."**

**"Disembodied thoughts /Memories."**

~ Ch 8 ~

~ Manga powers and Star showers ~

"Damn it. They got Sarah! Tanks to the front and shields up, healers to the back, and cover the NPCs. If they die, we lose the caravan and goods. Vanguard side with a tank and someone for god's sake get Sarah up!" All the players in the group moved instantly and formed their ranks with practiced ease. Just as they finished several, more daggers came flying out of the treeline and struck the shields of the three tanks upfront as well as a couple of the forward melee classes.

"Damn it. These daggers are doing insane damage!"

"Fuck yeah, it did 1,000 dmg through my shield and my bulwark skill!"

"Shit, they killed Kenny!"

"You bastards!"

"Mages fire into the treeline. Try to flush them out or light the forest up so we can at least see them! And someone, get Kenny up!"

An arcane and chaos mage in the back, fired off several low powered AOE fire spells into the treeline, the dried Autumn leaves of the trees bursting into flames that ignited the surrounding flora and shrubbery as well. There, just behind the fire, was a woman of average height with black hair, wearing a gray and black dress with purple accents tied down by a long purple sash, all covered by a dark black cloak. The cloak wrapped around her and gave off a hazy aura effect that made it hard to keep track of her as she rushed side to side along the now burning treeline as she threw dagger after dagger.

"Damn it! She's using a master's shroud. I can't lock on, or get a bead on her!"

"We cant see her stats either!"

"What level is she?!"

"Hold the line! We can outlast her! Throwing daggers are a bad weapon to use. Like a bow or crossbow, they're limited to 99 in a stack, and you can only hold two different kinds in your inventory at once! We can just rotate healing, then we. Argh!"

Something struck the man in the back, sending him crashing into the wagon next to him. A few people whirled around to see their team leader get taken out, the closest one being a Chaos mage. She looked around and then got low to check him. "What? How did she hit him from the back? Wait, that's not a Uhg..."

"Captain! Lana!"

"Chris!"

"Bossman! Chaos mage!" One of the vanguard classes near the front called out while glancing from the bodies of his downed friends to the treeline, seeing a few more daggers aimed at several of his companions a few meters away. "How did she? Everyone group up! We have to protect the healers and NPCs! Somebody get Lana and the captain up!"

Just as the young man finished shouting out his orders, he caught the glint of something rushing towards him, and his eyes widened. He raised his sword to block, but he knew he wasn't going to be fast enough, but just when the boy thought he was done for a figure landed in front of him and deflected the dagger. **Ghostly Obscura, Vicious Defense.** He stumbled back and fell on his butt, looking up at the back of the woman standing there. She had long raven black hair that billowed in the server's autumn breeze, and pale skin that was just visible through certain parts in her gear. In her hands were a dagger, and a short sword. The sleek, angular design looked similar to the new mecha shift gear he'd seen advertised in the patch notes. He blinked, and his eyes widened when he saw her turn to look at him over her shoulder with a pair of bright glowing amber eyes. He'd never seen someone with eyes like that before. They had to have been edited with the character creator. "Are you alright?"

The boy blinked a few times and nodded just as eight more daggers came flying at them. "Watch out!"

A dome of writhing black smoke appeared over the caravan. The daggers that passed through it were glowing bright red while the newcomer's weapons became enveloped in a dark purple light. Without a wasted motion, she brought her blades up and deflected all eight of them, sending them flying back out of the dome in random directions. One of the boy's companions slid next to him and shook him while handing him his dropped sword. "Oscar! Are you okay? Who is she? Someone, you know?" The boy shook his head in stunned awe.

Oscar barely saw the daggers, yet this girl used a couple of skills and deflected all of them without moving her feet. His companion patted his shoulder with a grin, and the stunned boy grinned back. "In that order. Fine, no clue and nope, but I'm glad she showed up."

~ 0 ~

Jaune watched, eyes wide as Blake jumped from her horse and dived through the air towards the person furthest from the center of the caravan who'd been shouting orders after the big guy had been taken out. He saw her draw her blades as a dagger went flying for the kid, and he bit his lip in anticipation of what would happen. Would she make it? Would she be able to block even if she did? Would she get hit instead? Was her new gear enough to mitigate the damage? Despite having crystal armor himself, he'd almost died against someone around the level of their target. He blinked, and that was it. He'd missed it. The only indicator he had that Blake had made it in time was seeing the boy fall on his butt as a knife landed in front of his horse, making it come to a sudden stop, and throw him off.

He tumbled off his horse and staggered to his feet, feeling a dull ache from the fall. His horse didn't even stay. It just bolted off, leaving him. It was quickly followed by Blake's as a notification popped up in front of his face.

**"Battle has been initiated while riding a temporary noncombat mount. Mount has fled and will not return. **  
**Horse whistle broke."**

"Damn it. I hope Blake doesn't get mad about that." He rolled his shoulder and reached for the hilt of his new sword when another dagger came flying his way. His eyes widened, and he felt his body move. He leaned back and twisted ever so slightly as he threw out his left arm. A slight burning sensation around his right flank flared, and he let his arm buckle folding in on himself, allowing gravity to pull him and roll down the steep hill a couple of meters. A loud crash resounded where he'd just been. Jaune pushed himself up onto his elbows and looked up with wide eyes.  
"Jaune! Get over here now! We have a big problem!"

Jaune gulped and scrambled to his feet while looking into the violet-blue eyes of his new assailant. "Dew?"

~ 0 ~

A dome of writhing, black smoke appeared over the caravan. The daggers that had been aimed at Blake passed through it, now glowing bright red while her blades became enveloped in a dark purple light. She felt her body tense as her skill took effect. Her arms moved flawlessly in short flicks deflecting all eight of the daggers in…four different directions. Her eyes widened, eyes darting in the four directions the knifes had flown as her body tensed. "Jaune, Get over here now! We have a big problem!"

The skill she'd just used, Vicious defense, was a skill used for fending off multiple people or thrown and shot attacks, so long as they were physical. It stopped the user from counter-attacking, but it deflected every strike back at all targets within range with 25% of the original damage, but only if your power was comparable. You couldn't, for example, use it against a boss or mobs. It was strictly a PVP skill. Now the fact that the daggers had gone in different directions was an undeniable indicator that there were several people in the same party that were within the range of the one who'd thrown them. This was bad. Really really bad. One person had looked tough, and then doable what with the new gear, but 4? "Jaune, where are you? I said!"

"ARGH!"

"Jaune!"

~ 0 ~

Dew grit her teeth and scowled at the blond idiot who'd fallen off his mount. She'd positioned herself behind him after hearing the skill the girl activated. She could have sworn she'd had him after he fell while dodging. His head had been right there, and yet somehow, he'd avoided her strike as well. "Damn it. I knew I should have gone for an undodgeable skill."  
She pulled her spear out of the ground and calmed herself down, her expression becoming placid as her eyes met the guy's in front of her.

"Dew?"

She paused. "What did the guy just say? Did he. Does he know me? I haven't met anyone from IRL, besides the girls from the cheer squad. Do I know someone who looks like him? Blond hair blue eyes…" He reached up, and she tensed. Fixing him with a stern expression as she locked on.

**Target:**  
**Crocea Morse**  
**Player level -**  
**HP -**

"What the?" She saw him reach up behind his head, and she readied to lunge when he gave a nervous laugh while rubbing the back of his head. Dew felt her shoulders sag, letting the blade of her spear hit the dirt as her jaw dropped in disbelief. "No way. Jaune?" Her mouth closed, and a big grin spread across her features as she jumped at him, hugging him tightly.

~ 0 ~

Jaune's eye's widened when Dew jumped at him, and he tried to get back, but he hadn't expected this, and the most he managed to do was turn around and take a step just before Dew glomped him, her arms wrapping tightly around his neck. "ARGH! Dew. Dew, stop. I can't breathe," He strangled out as Dew's grin grew.

"Oh my god, Jaune. I didn't know you played 'The World of Remnant.' It's been forever since I saw you do anything besides study. I mean, you hardly ever eat with us anymore either. You usually only show up when you're paying." Dew calmed down and got off Jaune. She patted his cheek with her spear while looking him up and down with an appraising look. "You know, you look good when you dress up. Wouldn't think it with all the dull clothes you wear to class."

Jaune rubbed his throat and swatted her spear away, not exactly feeling safe with it near his face. "Yeah, well, I don't usually buy my clothes. The ones I wear to class are typically gifts from my mom. Dress nice at school but try not to impress until you graduate. Something about earning a new look instead of just buying it." Dew made a noncommittal humming noise and opened her mouth to respond when she jumped back and slashed with her spear.

Jaune's eyes widened, and he reached for his sword. How could he have let his guard down like that? She was attacking him at the start, which meant she was either their mark or in the same group. Just as he drew his sword, Blake came dashing around him in a flurry of cherry blossoms, blades glowing blue. She slid out in front of him and slashed both weapons at Dew in opposite vertical directions. Blake grunted as their weapons clashed, letting out a shower of sparks.

~ 0 ~

Blake's eyes widened when she saw Jaune get jumped by some blonde girl. She was tall with mostly green clothes, namely a dress and thigh-high boots that had leafy designs. She had long blond hair and pointed ears. She also wielded a spear that she was pointing at Jaune's face now. Blake's cat ears flattened against her head, and she dashed towards them.

**Silent Assailant, Hypnotic Whirlwind, **Blake's body spun mid-stride, and she threw herself into a somersault using the blades to tear into to ground, launching herself forwards as a squall erupted behind her. The skill ended a couple of meters behind Jaune. The after-effects of the** Ghostly Obscura **and the added effect of **Silent Assailant **made her and her skill near undetectable. This was the perfect opportunity to deal some lethal damage. The girl's weapon indicated she was most likely a relentless class like herself, but if she wasn't going all out on Jaune, then she probably had a mage subclass that she focused on, meaning she was a hard hitter but wouldn't have much defense. The fact they were a PKer and an elf said that they probably focused on broad area magic skills as well. An easy match up for her. This would be quick so long as she wasn't packing full gear, or was some outrageously high level compared to their mark.

Blake's heel dug into the ground, and she met the eyes of the girl in front of Jaune. Her eyes narrowed as the other girl's widened. Dew jumped back as Blake pivoted and swung her body around Jaune's, pressing against his to get around him just in time as her skill activated. **Death Blossom.** There was a flurry of cherry blossoms around her as her blades began to hum and glow a deep blue.

"**Undodgeable!"**

Dew jumped back and slashed at Blake as her blades came around, clashing with the other girl's weapon. It wasn't an actual block. Dodging and blocking were a high DEX, high AGIL, traits that most magic users didn't invest in. Instead, she'd attacked with a light attack in hopes of interrupting the skill, but Blake. She'd invested in DEX and AGIL for this specific reason. Due to not interrupting the attack, they would trade. Since it was a dodge attack, the damage would be decided by DEX.

If your DEX were more than 50% greater than your opponent, you would deflect all damage and deal 70% of the original damage. If your DEX were the same or within 25% of each other, you'd both receive 25% damage. If your DEX were 50% lower, you'd get insta parried, leaving you open for a counter or a heavy skill. Unless, of course, your Agility was high enough, or you had an ability that stopped you from getting staggered.

"**Clash! Breakthrough!"**

Dew Grit her teeth. She wasn't some fancy assassin or a warrior. She'd played it safe and built a heavy assault character that had lots of AOE and Heavy Hit skills. She'd put in the minimum DEX and AGIL to hit monsters of her level but had poured everything else into evasion, and Intelligence to increase her ability to move around in a fight, and hit like a fucking train with her magic skills. In a siege, she was invaluable, and in group PVP, she was devastating. However, there's no such thing as a win all in Remnant. Against a tank with magic defense or a pure mage class with high agility, she was in a bad spot, but an assassin. An assassin who matched or beat her in AGIL and focused on DEX was her Achilles heel. She would be dead in moments if she got stuck in high damage combo or chained by a launch due to the simple fact she had no combo breakers or skill and ability cancelers.

Dew's eye's widened, and she screamed as her weapon went flying. **A Broken Movement in Pain: Link: Dauntless Lunch. **Blake spun around and bent over to the point her chest was touching her thighs as her left leg shot straight up accompanied by a torrent of water, kicking Dew right in the chin, launching her into the air. She followed up by completing her spin and crouched on the ground in front of a wide-eyed Jaune before springing off the road into a backflip, rising to meet Dew as a light gray barrier appeared around her.

"**Launch!"**  
**"Hyper Armor!"**

Blake's short sword and dagger glowed a dark poisonous pink, **Dauntless Launch: Link: Mercy Stroke**. Faster than Dew could track Blake slashed across her chest in an x, transitioning into a spin where she cut both blades across Dew's side from left to right. Blake then slashed the short sword back across from right to left, and a thin white barrier appeared around Dew, shattering.

"**Armor Break!"**

**(Bold - Mercy Stroke: Link)**  
**(Bold - Vorpal Evanescence) **Blake kicked Dew back down to the ground, using her as a jump pad to stay in the air. **Mercy Stroke: Link: Vorpal Evanescence. **She put her dagger in her right hand with her short sword as several silver lights formed behind her. Blake seemed to float in the air for a second, glaring down at Dew while throwing her hand out, the silver rays piercing the ground around Dew. The air around Dew lit up and shattered as if made of a thin crystal, and she screamed, but her voice was suddenly cut off.

"**Shear! Silence! Disable! Critical hit!"**

Blake landed on top of Dew, who was in no position to defend herself, and she ground her teeth as she raised her dagger, covered in a sickly violet light.** Vorpal Evanescence: Link: Soul eater. **As the blade came down, Jaune yelled out to her. "Blake to your sides!" Her eyes widened as she glanced to her left, seeing a girl with deep scarlet hair lunge at her with a kris. To her right, a girl with purple hair, wielding a sword. This was not good. She couldn't stop her skill now. It was a combo finisher, and there was no way for her to cancel it after initiated or combo into anything else.

There was also no way these girls had just gotten here with Jaune now warning her. They'd waited for the opportunity to strike. Her Hyper armor would stop her from getting interrupted for the first hit, but she'd still take full damage. "Damn it! A free hit without knocking me out of the attack. Then they'll stun-lock me with normal attacks until it reaches combo status. That's four hits. I don't know if I can take that even with high-level gear. Shit!"

**Visceral Metronome**

~ 0 ~

Blake squeezed her eyes shut and braced as much as she could for the impact as she felt her arm swing down to stab the girl she'd already comboed. Odds were it wouldn't finish her, but it would make her useless in the fight, and near impossible for a non-support mage to get rid of the debuffs. She felt the wind rush up on either side of her. Heard the crunch of gravel as her dagger swung down, stabbing the silently screaming girl under her and then. "Blake!"

"Son of a bitch!"

"Bastard!"

Blake's eyes shot open to see the flash of a crimson blade fly around her left flank and clash against the incoming kris with a purplish glow. Jaune slid up beside her just a fraction of a second after his blade. He grabbed her shoulder and rolled over her back, connecting with the blow from the girl with the purple hair. He overpowered her, and she stumbled back.

**"Visceral Counter-strike!"**

**"Bleed! Drain! Poison!**

The two girls who had tried attacking shouted out for their party member when she clutched at her chest after Blake ripped her dagger out. Blake took the second to stare down at Dew and targeted her.

**Target - Dew**  
**Player Level - 173**  
**HP - 1344/17000**  
**Armor Break, Shear, Silence, Disable, Bleed, Drain, Poison**

Blake couldn't help the grin from spreading across her face. One combo and nearly out. High-level play and some serious gear really did come down to skill, and not giving your opponent a chance. A few more hits, and this would have been a walk in the park for a mark. Or it would have been, if not for. "Dew!" She glanced up just in time to see the girl with red hair thrusting her knife right at her face. Fast. Too fast. **Wolfs Fang. **This girl was on her level in terms of SPD. A skill meant she was dead to rights.

She brought her hands up to block. It was the fastest function in the game outside of counter-strikes, some people, like her, even used it to cancel-chain-combos. Despite blocking, she knew she wasn't a knight or any kind of high resilience or defense class. Against another Assassin, blocking could only do so much, and so much meant very little against critical multipliers. After all, what good was a class made for one-shotting and single comboing if blocking would let you survive? As such, attack-canceling skills and shut-down abilities were coveted in higher-level gameplay, but the requirements lay in DEX as well as RESL. No player who knew what they were doing would spec into a stat not meant for their class unless min-maxing, or waiting till endgame. It was then they could finalize their build. So what if you died or got wrecked along the way. As the saying went. GET GUD.

Blake watched as if in slow motion as the kris came closer and closer to her head for what was, without a doubt, going to be a major-critical or a double-major-critical. Her blades were rising and would meet the other girl's in the middle, but games were funny in how even if you did block, mechanics had a way to screw you, Chip, or breakthrough damage. Hell, even completely subverting the attack. In The World of Remnant, everything was decided by skill, traits, and stats.

Something she'd picked up on recently thanks to Jaune was how perfectly outfitted weapons and armor could be a significant boost to stats. Her new weapons and the extra bits she'd seen added to the armor while going over it on their way here showed her one thing she'd noticed but never thought of much till now. Level, as well as your based stats, were more than that. They were percentages for multipliers. It was even more apparent with the crystal gear she had on now.

Of course, just about every game used a multiplier on gear for percentage-based increases and what not but Remnant. Remnant focused on resource management, equipment, and stat bonuses in a way she'd never seen before. After getting her Crystal gear and seeing the % bonuses to her stats. The way her abilities scaled up with her. She had to say. "Jaune, you're such a cheater."

The blond brought his shield up and clashed his sword down on the blocked blade of the blue-haired girl he was facing. She kicked at him, but he dropped his arm with the shield to prevent that as well **Counter**, but she pulled back into a fencers stance sword glowing.

Jaune's eyes narrowed as a golden, red-tinged glow enveloped him, **Knock-back, **and he shoved her down onto the ground before looking over his shoulder at Blake with a look of disbelief. "Really, Blake? Now?" His eye's widened when he saw the other girl's kris meet with Blake's blades right in front of her face. **Shadow Stitch.**

**Clash! Breakthrough!**

Blake's weapons tor from her hands, followed by her head snapping back along with a smattering of blood that flew in an arc above her. She was lifted off the ground from the force of the hit. Before she could do anything, the redhead rushed forward, sliding across the ground in a tall, elegant poise. **Monarch's wrath. **The other girl stabbed Blake several times across the chest before grabbing her breastplate and slamming Blake's head down onto it.

"**Double-major-critical! Knock out!"**

Blake fell to her knees, her hands limply hanging at her sides as the redhead performed a pirouette and threw an ax kick to the back of Blake's head, slamming her into the ground. Jaune watched in wide-eyed horror at his friend getting beaten down like that. He tried shouting out to Blake, but the girl he'd been fighting kicked at the back of his knees.

**Side-kick**, Jaune dodged to the side and slid in a semi-circle behind the girl letting out an angry yell as she flipped to her feet. He thrust his leg out at her, aiming for the small of her back while she was still completing her flip to get on her feet.

Jaune's eyes widened as the girl's hand exploded in brilliant white light, and she went arcing over his head. **Slap Shot.** His kick missed, and he ground his teeth whirling around to meet her knee. His head snapped to the side, and he tasted rust.

Jaune lashed out at the girl catching her gut as she touched down and forcing her back. **Dancing Rhapsody**. He pressed his advantage with an overhead swing that she tried blocking.

"Breakthrough! Stagger!"

The girl looked at him with wide eyes as her sword glanced away, leaving her open. He stepped up to her, delivering his second and third slash in the combo. Blood spattered across the girl's clothes as she gripped her face and stomach. She shouted, calling him a little shit. She pointed her sword and pulled a trigger. Jaune's eyes widened as her sword folded down into a crossbow, and he grunted as several twangs filled the air. He felt that now familiar, burning sensation around his gut, but he couldn't look. He had to keep going, letting up meant death. It looked like it for Blake.

She pulled the trigger on her weapon again, and it shifted back into a sword. She flipped it into a reverse grip as she came rushing at Jaune with her arm outstretched. Her weapon, hanging behind her arm likely to do increased damage. She pushed her advantage and moved into a combo. **Death Stroke: Link: Full Lariat**

Jaune braced himself. He did it just a moment ago, and he could do it again. He held his sword in both hands and glared at her as she closed the distance in less than a second, but he never braced. Just as she was on him, he moved.

Jaune's knees bent, and his head would have met the girl's arm save for his sword. **Visceral Metronome.** He pushed the blade to her armpit and spun around, placing his left foot right next to her right one. He pulled his sword back and jumped back as she continued a couple of meters past him. "Yes!"

**"Deflect!"**

**VM/1**

"Congrats. But this isn't over you annoying punk!" **Full Lariat: Link: Flash of steel. **Her legs became enveloped in the same white light as before, and the ground exploded, sending her shooting right at him. Her blade was extended, and she had a confidant grin on her face. "You got lucky before Mr. knight, but now you die."

Jaune just stood there until she was less than a meter away. His arm rose, his hand coming to rest by his ear, sword covering his side. Just as she reached him, he spun gracefully out of the way and rushed in behind her to stop any more lunge attacks. "What? You little shit, how? Knights can't move that fast." She saw him move in behind her and swung her leg out at him, but he jumped over it. She grinned and continued her combo.

**Flash of Steel: Combo Link: Endless Flurry: Link: Blade Storm. **She went with the momentum of her kick and swung her sword around in a wide arc. The flash of steel coming for him made him grin, and the girl frowned with a glare. "What's so funny!"

Jaune twisted in mid-air, going upside down while bringing his blade to meet her's. Their swords met, and instead of blocking or clashing, he rolled over her sword using his as a divider to avoid damage while throwing her's off the mark. **Visceral Metronome. **She huffed as her sword was weighed down and cut into the dirt road, but that didn't stop her attack. She twisted her body and swung her hips for full momentum and slashed her sword back up at Jaune Who just stood up straight.

He swung his sword in a pinwheel and caught her sword, angling it back at the ground while distancing himself from her with a small hop. **Visceral Metronome/3.** "I can do this all day. My stats and traits are obviously higher than yours, where it counts."

The Bluenette shouted in rage at him and tore her sword through the ground at him as she stepped to him. "Shut up!" Her sword came swinging at Jaune's face, and she grinned when he didn't move. She Initiated a block just after she pulled the trigger on her sword. "Gotcha."

**"Hyper Cancel! Combo break! Feint!"**

The girl's eyes widened as Jaunes sword, and his left hand shone with a brilliant purple light. **Visceral Counter-Strike. **He moved so fast she couldn't keep track. Was it an auto counter she couldn't do anything about? When had he...All the attacks he deflected without followups flashed through her mind. "What the hell is a knight with skills like yours doing around?"

In less than a second, Jaune dropped low, dodging the bolts that shot from the bow-gun while placing his left hand on her gut. There was an explosion of energy, and she was lifted off her feet. She coughed up a mouthful of blood and spat as Jaune spun around, smacking her back with the flat of his sword, slamming her into the ground. When she bounced back up, he kicked her against a tree a couple of meters away. "I'm not a knight." He pulled his sword back and readied his attack. **Promise Reprisal. **His body became coated in the gray aura of hyper armor, and he lunged at her. She was still recovering from the wall splat and couldn't do anything. His sword plunged into her gut and then back out quickly. The stab wall splatted her again, and she looked up at him with wide eyes. What met her was the cross guard of his sword, and she was knocked to the ground.

**Diminuendo Dive. **He thrust his sword into her gut again and twisted the blade. She cried out as he gripped the handle with both hands jumping with her in tow, dragging her up the tree. He wrenched the sword out and spun around Stabbing down at her heart, sending her crashing to the forest floor below.

**"Critical strike! Armor Break!"**

Jaune grinned. He could do this. She had done next to nothing to him, and he had her on the ropes Just one more skill. **Coda. **"This is gonna end this or come real close." The girl looked up at Jaune with scared eyes and scrambled to run. She got one step and moved into a dodge.

"**Guard Break!"**

Her heart went cold when she felt her body freeze. She looked over her shoulder, seeing Jaune right behind her with his left foot holding hers and his right hand on her shoulder. The look in his eyes was...Confident. "Are you some kind of battle junkie?"

Jaune looked down with a weak smirk as he stabbed his sword into her back, through her heart, and out the front. "No. I'm just competitive, and you hurt my friend."

**"Major Double Critical!"**

Jaune let out a breath as he pushed the girl off his sword. She wasn't dead yet, but the critical would stun her long enough for his animation to end and. "Nebula!" He looked to his right. Down the road where the caravan had been attacked was another person. His eyes widened when he saw the multitude of daggers come flying at him.

~ 0 ~

Jaune crashed to the ground with a groan. The bluenette, Nebula, had kicked his face after he'd gotten out of the stun-lock from the throwing knives. He gripped his sword tightly and made to get up, but a boot hit his gut, sending him sprawling back, knocking the wind out of him. He opened his eyes with a groan and came face to face with Blake, but her bangs were in the way. He couldn't see her expression. He tried to say something, but a boot came flying at his face, and he rolled over, gripping his face in pain. "God damn i." He was cut off by a weight falling on his back, knocking the air from him again.

He winced, feeling a hot burning sensation near his right hand. He glanced, seeing his hand pinned to the ground with his sword, by Nebula's own. He ground his teeth and took in a sharp breath. It still hurt. With pain-filled eyes, he looked back at Blake just in time to see the redhead step over Blake. "This is for Dew, you bitch." With that, her heel started glowing a deep crimson, and she slammed it down into the side of Blake's head. There was a loud crack, and Blood splattered Jaune's face, as all the color drained from Blake's Avatar.

The pain in Jaune's hand surged, and he felt the weight on his back shift. "Wow. Octavia. That was pretty clean. I mean this little shit, notwithstanding she dropped like a fly."

"Blake…" Jaune trailed off quietly as he watched her avatar become a monochrome palate. He blinked, and in her place, he saw Ruby. He felt a pit open in his gut. This was so similar to back then. "Why?"

"Haha. Damn Octavia. That was a finish if I ever saw one." The crunch of dirt met his ears. The third girl joined the other two above him. "Honestly, I can't believe she got Dew so good." Jaune coughed as a boot hit his side, making him wanna curl up. "This little snot actually dodged her without glancing at her. He even almost had Nebula. I mean, did you see? What level is he? Did he use a hack or something?"

"No, Gwen. I don't think he's a hacker. I mean, he did get knocked and pinned by Nebula after you stun locked him. She didn't even use a skill or ability." Octavia looked at Nebula with folded arms. "Though I did look at his target info, and it's weird."

Nebula shook her head and shrugged to the both of them. "Weird? In what way?" She asked in a wary tone. I mean, he went from zero to one hundred in no time and deflected our attacks. And I mean deflected. It stopped our momentum and restarted my combo counter. You?" She asked while looking at Octavia. The redhead returned a frown and a nod. Nebula felt Jaune shift, and she pulled her blade out, stabbing it into his wrist. "Stop squirming."

Gwen sighed and rubbed her eyes. Nebula was pretty cool for the most part, but she took the fact this was a game to far and abused the whole PVP oriented thing and did stuff like this from time to time. "Please stop. This is a game, not some BDSM simulator." Nebula flushed and let go of her sword but left it in Jaune's wrist. "So. What about him was so weird?" Gwen asked.

Nebula looked to Octavia as well with an expectant look. "Well, I mean. I can't see his level or anything but his name," She said while waving dismissively at Jaune.

Octavia glanced at the guy under her. "You know. That makes me wonder. This was the only scheduled group traveling between Vale and Cliffside this evening. And high-level players don't go to Cliffside. Like. For anything." She looked down at Blake and Jaune. "What are they doing here?"

The other two girls looked down at Jaune with suspicious expressions. Nebula nudged his head, drawing a quiet growl. "You know the longer I look at him, the more familiar he gets. Hey, squirt. Do we know you?" He just kept his mouth shut. Nebula rolled her eyes and sighed. "Men. Think they're so tough."

"Hey. Octavia. Nebula." The two looked at Gwen. "Where is Dew?"

Octavia, as well as Nebula, looked to Gwen like she was stupid then pointed behind themselves. "Where?" They all looked over only to see empty dirt.

Octavia rushed over and looked down at the ground with wide eyes. "What! She was just here. There's no way she moved. She was suffering from disable and a bunch of other stuff."

Nebula got up off of Jaune and looked around, confused. "I could have sworn she was just there." She paused, her eyes going wide. "Octavia!" The redhead looked at her party leader and nodded with a scowl.

Gwen walked over to the two and looked between the two while she rubbed the back of her head. "What?"

Suddenly a wave of energy barreled into the three of them, sending Octavia and Gwen sprawling. Nebula grit her teeth and covered her eyes from the dirt picked up by the wave and narrowed her eyes, trying to make out what it was. "No." The other two gathered themselves and looked up at what caused everything.

~ 0 ~

The pain in Jaune's hand surged, and he felt the weight on his back shift. "Blake…" He trailed off quietly as he watched her avatar become a monochrome palate. He blinked, and in her place, he saw Ruby. He felt a pit open in his gut. This was so similar to back then. "Why is this happening? It was supposed to be a single mark. Why are there four of them?" The crunch of dirt met his ears, and the fourth joined the other two above him. There was no way out with three against him. Whatever. None of that mattered, Blake. She was his focus right now. He just had to… *Cough* Jaune let out a hack as a boot crashed into his side, making him wanna curl up. "Fuck." Kicking someone who's down. Fuck the fact it was a game! This hurt. And Blake. Had she felt what they did to her? Was she in pain? "Damn it, why?"

"I just have to get to Blake. I need to make sure she's alright." He shifted and stretched out his right hand with the blade still stabbed into it. It tugged but wouldn't move much further. Then without warning, the sword was removed, and he dragged his hand towards Blake's face. Just before he could touch her, the sword plunged down into his wrist, pinning him once more. He cursed under his breath and tightened his grip on the hilt of his sword. They'd hurt Blake. They'd hurt him. He needed, he needed power.

Nebula nudged his head, making him growl quietly. "You know the longer I look at him, the more familiar he gets. Hey, squirt. Do we know you?" Jaune just kept his mouth shut. "Men. Thin… …eir… …o… …gh…"

Everything started to fade and get distorted. Soft muted darkness encroach on the edges of Jaune's vision and the pain in his body disappeared. It was strange. He couldn't accurately describe how he was feeling right now, and that included mentally. He really didn't. If he had to pick something though it would be confused. Blake had just died. But this was a game, so she wasn't really dead. Would she be mad like Ruby had? Was he okay himself? He'd never actually died in the game before. He'd made an emergency log-out back then to check on Ruby. Is that why he couldn't feel his body anymore? Was everything going dark because he'd died, and the game was force booting him for the six-hour timer? What was going on?

~ 0 ~

~ (Lost World - by Myuu) ~

Jaune didn't know how much time passed or what was going on; the only thing he noticed was that he suddenly felt cold and wet. Music permeated through the hazy cloud of darkness that was his mind. It sounded like an old piano. It was accompanied by the quiet crash of water and the gentle rustle of the wind. As if he were on a beach. He felt the same weightless feeling come over him as when he'd been taken into the Ether. He didn't want to open his eyes if that were the case. The question was, how was he gonna get out of here. Last time he hadn't been able to log out or bring up his HUD until the fight started.

He gripped his hands, feeling no dirt or sand like he'd expected and instead was met with a smooth wet surface. He slowly, tiredly, opened his eyes. It was a struggle to do even that. Granted, he felt weightless, but that was apparently not connected to his ability to move right now. He felt light as air, but he was moving as if underwater, and his eyelids felt almost like they'd been taped shut. Regardless, he struggled and forced them open with far more effort than should have been needed. What met his gaze looked to be a dimly glowing platform with a thin layer of water washing over it. The crashing sound was coming from the dark edge of the platform where the water lapped up around the edges with the gentle waves.

He winced, feeling far stiffer than he should have. With great effort, he pushed himself up off his chest and to his knees. He looked around, seeing nothing but a perfectly round platform surrounded by water. "Where… am I?" Jaune rubbed his eyes and looked back around, taking note of the vast expanse of darkness surrounding him. It was black as pitch. He couldn't see more than a few meters past the edge of the. He looked down. Whatever it was, he was standing on.

"**So much to do… So little time…**

Jaune looked up around into the darkness that seemed to swirl and grasp at the light beneath him. "What?"

"**The end is inevitable…"**

"He couldn't think straight. Was this some other kind of random event related to the pendant? And the end? "What's that supposed to mean?" He called out. Not like he expected an answer to be honest.

"**Don't be afraid… Now stand up… Can you do it?"**

He ground his teeth and pushed off the ground, using his knee as support as he struggled to his feet. "A lot easier said than done."

"**Very good... You desire power… Give it form… It will give you strength…"**

Jaune heaved a deep sigh and nearly fell over. He stumbled and fell forward, slipping. His hands and knees splashed into the shallow water, sending small waves in every direction. He gripped at the smooth surface and chuckled mirthlessly. "Just my luck to end up in some weird place again. He crawled forward until he was at the center of the glowing platform. Looking up around into the darkness, he felt dizzy and confused. With a huff, he slumped back onto his feet and grasped up at the dark sky above him. "You said to give it form! But I have no idea what the hell that means!" His hand dropped, and he looked down at the platform under him with a melancholy smile. "Not like it matters. It's just scripted."

"**Is that what you think… Rude… Ungrateful… Childish… Expects too much… Human… No… Unblessed… So that is your strength…Power given form… Meaning through strife…"**

Jaune squeezed his hands tightly and fell forward onto his arms yelling. "Just give me something already so I can get out of here! I want to make sure Blake is alright. Make sure she doesn't…. I need to protect her. Better than I did, Ruby," He trailed off.

"**So The power of the Guardian interests you? Kindness to aid friends… a defense to repel all… Is this the power you seek?"**

Was it? What good had being a tank done him? He'd done well, but then that woman had happened. He needed strength to fight not to defend. He shook his head. "No. I need to fight."

"**Strength to fight… So the power of the warrior interests you? Invincible courage… A weapon of terrible destruction… Is this the power you seek?"**

A weapon? That sounded nice, but then again. Was it? What could he do with a sword? Granted, with his improved stats and the focus on mobility, he'd be devastating with the right weapon or skills. Enough to tear down anyone who threatened him. But again. Would that work in every situation? He licked his lips and took a calming breath. "No. I need something more absolute. Something I can be sure of."

"**I see… Absolute… So then the power of the mystic interests you? Unmatched wisdom and fortitude… A catalyst of unimaginable possibilities… Is this the power you seek?"**

"Magic?" Jaune laughed softly in frustration. Was this some elaborately dramatic stat boost or something, or a free skill? Magic wouldn't do anything for him. His character's intelligence was to low. Not only that, but he had no magic-based skills to begin with in the event he got a weapon. "No. None of those work for me." He looked down into the dimly glowing surface of the platform he was on. He just now noticed it, but he was standing on some glass roof. Below him lay a flooded room. An art viewing platform of sorts with extravagant furniture strewn everywhere. All submerged in water. "What is…"

**"So… The Guardian… The Warrior… The Mystic… These powers hold no sway over you… Tell me about yourself, so I may grant you the power you desire."**

Jaune just fell back onto his butt at this point. What in the hell was going on? Why was he still here? He needed to get back to check on Blake. Telling Blake about the six-hour respawn timer, and apologize for not being able to keep the promise about going to the event was his priority. "Hey, I don't have time for this. Just give me the sword so I can go." He went ignored and frowned. He tried to pull up his HUD to see the time, but as he'd expected, in the Ether, it didn't pop up. With a groan, he fell back and splashed into the shallow water. "Fine then. Ask me your stupid questions."

"**What are you afraid of most?"**

Jaune quirked a brow. Talk about a loaded question. There were lots of things he was afraid of. So many things that he couldn't even keep track of them as they flitted through his mind. But the one thing that stuck was the faces of everyone he knew… Slowly fading from his memory. He closed his eyes and shook his head. "My friends. I'm afraid of losing my friends."

"**Hmm, Is losing your friends really so scary?"**

Jaune looked up into the darkness and shrugged. I don't know. But it terrifies me that one day they just won't be there.

"**What do you want from life?"**

Again. Another loaded question. There were plenty of things Jaune wanted from life. Some trivial. Others were impossible. Most of them selfish. Like wanting him, Yang and Ruby to go back to the way they were. Like wanting to spend more time with his friends. To do everything he could and share it with the people closest to him. To have a story to tell… "I want a fulfilling life, one I can look back on and be proud of while telling my friends all about it."

"**You want to be admired… You want to be proud of yourself… Respectable."**

He just folded his hands behind his head and sighed. Yeah, well, I guess. I never really thought of it like that. I was a little harsher and called it being selfish.

"**What's most important to you?"**

That made Jaune pause. Not in the same way that countless things popped up, but more so how nothing did. He could have said, friends. After all, that's what he was afraid of losing most, but. When he thought about it, there was a strange stirring in the back of his mind saying forgetting certain things was for the best. It made him pause. He felt a coldness settle over his heart, and he gripped his breastplate. "Alone, Just me, myself and I. When everyone is gone, I'll be alone." His near-perfect grades. He was always trying to stand out compared to his sisters, learning fast, getting things done right. Jumping through hoops to come out smelling like roses. He sat up and looked up into the darkness above him. "Being number one."

"**Is being, number one, such a big deal? Well then…"**

Jaune stood up. Far easier this time, and he patted himself down a bit to get some water off. "Does that mean I can go now?"

"**So… The Guardian… The Warrior… The Mystic… These powers hold no sway over you… Losing all of your friends frightens you the most… You want to be admired… You want to be proud of yourself… Being number one is the most important thing to you… I understand now…"**

Jaune felt something touch the center of his back, and he whirled around only to find nothing there.

"**So, this is how things are."**

"What?" Jaune yelped, looking around for what touched him. There was nothing as far as he could see. He looked down, and the only ripples in the water were from himself.

"**Don't worry."**

He felt the feeling around his shoulder this time. He tried to spin around again, but something caught his feet, and he tripped. When his hand hit the platform, it sunk right through. He looked at the glowing surface in wide-eyed terror and pulled his hand back. "What? What the hell is going on?"

"**And don't be afraid."**

Jaune felt a weight settle on his shoulders and something press against his back. Whatever was with him was holding him. No, it was dragging him down. He gripped at the weight around his shoulders and neck, feeling a slim pair of arms. He struggled and pulled at them but to no avail. The glowing light beneath him growing brighter and more piercing with every passing moment.

"**This is not the end… Don't forget…"**

Jaune thrashed around frantically and fell over, feeling himself sink ever lower into the glowing platform. Why did it scare him so much? It was like the time in the Ether, only a mirror opposite. Open space instead of a hall. A glowing platform instead of black depths. His eyes widened as he saw the edge of the platform. He struggled and grasped for it. Whatever lay in the water had to be better than where this platform would take him. He wasn't ready to fight another one of those things. The first time had been a fluke.

"**You now hold the mightiest weapon of all…"**

By the time he reached the edge, he was almost completely submerged in the light. His arms were falling below the surface and being pulled back out as he clawed his way to the edge. His legs felt as though he were wading through thick mud. He came to the end of the light, and with everything he had, he threw himself over. His face broke through the water's surface, and he felt it rush up his nose as he fell head over heels as if through nothing. The hands around his shoulder lifted off of him as one last thing was spoken to him.

"**And don't be afraid…"**

Jaune felt himself get righted by gravity or something. He coughed, and the bubbles that left his mouth floated down into his face and kept going. Or was it up? He squinted his eyes as he fell lower and lower into the sea. Around him, he could just make out the looming shadows of long-submerged structures as well as equipment, items, weapons, and furniture floating around him. He looked above to see a shining silvery light. He reached out to it feeling his lungs burn. As he drew closer, he made out a small obstruction just in front of him. It touched his outstretched hand. He gripped it tightly as the light from the depths became all-consuming.

~ (Song End) ~

**Item Obtained - Broken Silver Ring**  
**Unique skill**  
**Skill - Salvation**

**Item Obtained - Broken Pendant (Left)**  
**Unique ability**  
**Ability - Master of secrets: Ars Arcanum, Ragnarok**

**Item Obtained - Broken Pendant (Right)**  
**Unique Ability**  
**Ability - Aerial Combat**

**Item Obtained - Ring of Promise **  
**Unique Skill**  
**Skill - Lucky Strike**  
**Unique Abilities**  
**Ability - Luck+, Lucky Hit, Lucky Block, Lucky dodge**

**Secret Quest Complete: To reject all you know**  
**Reward: Unique Ability**  
**Ability Obtained - Apocalypse**

~ 0 ~

Nebula threw her hands to her side and reached for her sword. Her eyes widened when she didn't take hold of it. Her gaze lowered to the dirt road where she saw it standing in the ground still stabbed into the blond guy's arm. Octavia and Gwen Stood up and readied their weapons. "How the hell is she alive?" Octavia shrugged and shook her head. **Silver Fang.** Bringing her kris up, she ran her other hand along its side, covering it in a white glow.

Blake narrowed her eyes at the three of them before sparing a glance at Jaune. She grimaced with a pained expression and kicked the sword from his arm. He groaned and rolled over, reaching for his neck as if he was choking. She took note that he was soaked, and the dirt around him was a dirty puddle of muddy water. "What did they do to you, Jaune?"

Gwen lifted her hands. **Gamblers cut V3** with five daggers in each hand. Her hands started glowing a dark green. "Look behind her." Blake looked up at the girl's call. She followed the gaze of The other two girls looking down behind Blake, where a very dead, Dew, lay. Exactly where Blake's avatar had been just a minute ago.

Blake smirked at the other three girls. It was a smirk full of forced bravado, but now that they were all out in the open, one was near dead, one was out, and the last was a ranged fighter. This would be doable. With the crystal-infused gear she had, her dominant traits had been boosted into the 300 point threshold. With that, she'd gained three new abilities. She didn't have any attack-canceling or shut-down abilities, but two out of the three new ones she'd gotten from the trait boost could make up for that. "You hurt my friend. I'll get you back for that."

Nebula sneered. "Yeah? He said the same thing for you. Now!" Gwen threw her knives at Blake while Octavia launched across the road.

Blake braced and brought up her short sword and dagger, **Ghostly Obscura.** The same black smoky barrier that formed before sprang to life again, obscuring Jaune and Blake from view. The knives flew through, and the same thing as before happened. **Vicious Defense.** The blades were all deflected towards the remaining three party members; only Nebula was positioned behind Octavia, who jumped. The knifes aiming for Octavia stayed on their trajectory due to Nebula, allowing Octavia to soar through the air unabated and into Blake's barrier. The redhead pulled her kris back, glaring viciously at Blake. Her dagger shone brightly, blinding Blake.

Octavia grinned and let the skill take over, forcing her down to the ground faster where she lunged at the assassin. The Kris made contact, but instead of blood, a dark mist rained down from the wound. Octavia's eyes widened, and she tried to spin around only for the thing behind her to explode and send her flying. Her cheek came into contact with the steel covered heel of Blake's boot.

~ 0 ~

Blake smiled inwardly as the girl passed through her barrier. She moved as soon as she saw the girl's foot come through. The barrier marked people, mobs, and objects that came through it. Made blocking and attacking easier. It also allowed those on the other side to see what was going on. The moment of crossing, however, blinded your avatar for a fraction of a second. And that was all she needed to set up her kill.

**Shadow Stitch,** was the first ability she'd used. It made the user switch places with an opponent or monster that was inflicted with the blind or silence status effects so long as it was 6 pm to 6 am on the server, or you were in a location where the sun couldn't reach. On top of that, you switched appearances for a total of sixty seconds. Honestly, in PVP, if you could hit a healer or mage in the back lines with a blind ability or something, you could get an assassin with the ability to switch places with them. After that, everyone would jump the 'assassin.' All the while, the actual assassin could take out one or more of the enemy players depending on skills and player talent. All in all, at least two maybe three out of four down in a 4v4 guaranteeing a win or causing major chaos in a guild war.

The second ability she'd gotten was **Angel's Shadow. **It allowed her to leave a copy of herself that could do simple actions such as attack without abilities or skills, block, or for instance, right now. Take a hit. If it took damage, it died and exploded into a black mist, that when close to an enemy, would knock them off balance. Sadly, the user would take half of the damage the clone received. The saving grace was that it made the user invisible for three seconds, which for an assassin was a boon.

**Angel's Shadow. **Blake felt a cold refreshing feeling wash over her as she slid backward half a meter. Her eyes were staring directly at the back of her own head, and she instantly rolled to the side as the other girl came soaring through her barrier. As the redhead touched down, Blake jumped, somersaulting into the air behind her. Octavia Pulled her dagger back, and a blinding light shone from it, making Blake's double, shield its face, but with Octavia's body blocking most of the light, Blake wasn't affected. She waited for the girl to fall into her trap. The girl's kris found its mark in the belly of the double, one of the spots where armor wasn't located. It bit deep. Blake felt the light burning of taking a hit, and the invasive feeling of being stabbed as her clone bled a dark mist.

Octavia knew something was wrong. Blake could see it in her posture before her clone had started bleeding. But it was too late. The clone exploded, and Octavia went sailing back towards her.

**"Knockback!"**

Octavia didn't even see Blake spin as she touched the ground and bent over as her left leg shot straight up, followed by a torrent of water. **Dauntless Lunch. **The heel of Blake's boot hit Octavia right on the cheek, sending her tumbling back through the air as the torrent of water rose, catching her and launching her high.

**"Launch!"**

The redhead saw Blake crouch and readied herself using her trump card. **Mighty Block, Cruel punishment.**

Instead of jumping to meet Octavia, as she had with Dew, Blake initiated a block to cancel out of her skill just as her hyper armor started forming.

"**Hyper Armor! Feint! Skill Cancel!"**

Blake had caught on to what the redhead had been building towards. Initially, due to the girl's speed, Blake figured the girl was an assassin like herself, but after catching the girl off guard and landing the **Dauntless Launch**, it was clear this girl hadn't invested in EVAD or DEX at all. So she couldn't be a thief or rogue class, which always had high stats there even when not focused. Not only that but none of her own attacks had done much damage. Being an assassin even without a direct hit with a weapon, Blake was a hard hitter. Now add that with the fact the girl used a knife despite apparently not having the class for it, she was even able to use weapon skills. Everything had clicked in Blake's head in an instant.

The girl's main class was something that let her use different weapons that didn't strictly go with her class. Mages, Archers, and Blade Masters were the only ones so far who could do that. Archers could use short swords and knives. Mages could use a glaive, Dagger or tarot cards which doubled as magic throwing knives that lasted for as long as your MP did. Blade masters could use any kind of bladed weapon even if they were magic or an exotic so long as it wasn't a massive/ two-handed type. To top off her thoughts, a Blade master had high resilience due to being focused on versatility and survivability as a solo player from the start. No hard grinding or iffy moments but useless in guild wars. Add that with the massive hits despite Blade master being a high resilience class meant the second class was a powerhouse.

The only powerhouse classes that weren't level locked passed LVL 200 were Edge Punisher, and it's extension Dark Enforcer or Warrior of light, and it's extension Dragon Slayer. Now between those two, Edge Punisher would explain the massive damage and no shield as well as the Exotic type dagger. The Kris.

Edge Punishers could use any Exotic weapon and any two-handed weapons while the Blade master could wield any bladed weapon, including Exotics, so long as they were wieldable with one hand. There were no Exotic swords as far as she knew, and the girl had a kris, meaning she was a Blade Master, Edge Punisher. Or as the community had lovingly called them with contempt back when the game came out. Punish Masters.  
They were devastating in 1v1 and useful in 1v2-4. Their counter abilities, high resilience, and DEF, coupled with their tendency to deal critical after critical with their skills. One misstep, and they'd punish you to overkill. It made them a constant source of problems when it came to balancing. The saving grace to fighting them was their low SP and AP making them useless in guild wars.

To bad for Octavia, Blake had been playing since month 2, and she'd found a workaround to that temporary meta. She'd built the rest of her class off of the workaround because, to be honest, it was effective. She'd spent most of her experience points in getting skills and abilities that she could use to knock people down, stun them between combos or inflict debilitating status effects.

Blake glared at Octavia with a smirk and pulled the trigger on the short-sword. There was a click, and Blake slammed the dagger into the slot on the bottom of the sword. She pulled the trigger on the knife, and the blade shot up into the sword pulling the rest back down. There was another click, and the grooves near the swords handle extended out, revealing the while glowing bits as it finished shifting into a long sword. Blake swung the sword in reverse grip, holding it behind her as she thrust out her left hand. There was a fierce glow in her eyes as she met the shocked expression on Octavia's face. **Vorpal Evanescence **"Gotcha."

Blake Knew that as a rule, the people who made the Punish Master meta builds back then had all made the mistake of not specing anything into magic-defense because they thought it was strict swordplay and such game. No high-level mages with serious combat prowess at the time altered the way people played the game at the beginning. As such, this girl going right into a physical counter skill either spoke volumes about her attention to Blake's last combo or her lack of defense in anything else. But seriously. What noob threw out a guard skill layered with a critical counter skill before the attacker initiates their attack?

Blake dug the tips of her boots into the ground and braced her left arm as several silver lights formed behind her. They launched forward but stopped when they came level with Blake's outstretched hand. "RAGH~!" **Ghostly Obscura** Faded as Black let out a roar, her skill building up. The bolts of light increasing as Octavia fell to the ground. As soon as the redhead's eyes came level with her own, she released the skill, and almost two dozen bolts of light struck the space around Octavia, causing ripples in the air. **Twisted Hours.**

"**Warp!"**

Octavia came to a halt in midair. She felt the world slow down for her, and she heard the sound of glass cracking. Octavia glanced around, seeing the world itself shattering, ever so slowly. She could see Gwen and Nebula Behind Blake with wide-eyed expressions. Both were reaching out to her. They were moving so slow she could barely tell, but what she did note was how Blake was moving faster than them by a reasonable amount. She was still slowed, but it was fast enough to swing her sword back around into a proper grip. Then her now longsword began to glow a dark Black Making her eyes widen as time began to speed up.

"12, 13, 14, Now!" Black Launched forward as time went back to normal. **Twisted hours **Itself wasn't much of an ability, but it was one all assassins got when they unlock the class. It completely froze mobs and NPCs, but when it came to other players, it varied based on their AGIL, similar to how blocking and parrying worked with DEX. The little trick Blake had found out about the skill was that it slowed physical objects or stopped them but not time itself, after all, how would a 1:1 time-scale game incorporate time magic. The little bonus to the skill was that you could activate it and let ten seconds pass by while the fight was at a standstill. This enabled the ability to waste other people's skills that were set on timers.

**Mighty Block **and** Cruel punishment **were skills that were on a 15-second timer and a 25-second cooldown. They could stay up for just those 15 seconds. The purpose of this was to speed up combat, so people didn't just turtle up in PVP. Blake's earlier feint and block cancel had baited Octavia to activate her skills just as she was launched into the air. That gave Blake's followup **Vorpal Evanescence, **time to charge up for the added debilitating effects it could inflict while still wasting the other girl's active skill timer. Then she'd used **Twisted Hours **To add on as much time as possible. She hadn't even needed the whole ten seconds, but she had used what she needed to set up for her latest ability. The last thing she had to thank Jaune for. Time continued to move the way it should for everyone in the vicinity, and everything happened in an instant.

"Octavia!" Nebula Shouted as Gwen threw a dagger at Blake's back that crackled with light blue energy. The raven-haired assassin ignored it as it crashed into her, shattering with her hyper armor. Octavia tried to initiate another skill to counter or interrupt, but from being launched, only so many options were available, and no more of her skills or abilities could start from midair. Sadly that didn't matter because the air around the redhead shattered and exploded, sending her flying in Blake's direction, with no way to defend.

"**Shear! Silence! Disable! Critical hit! Stop! Blind! Tear!"**

Octavia couldn't move at all even if she wanted to now, and to make things worse; she couldn't see or speak. Her SP, and AP, were gone, and she'd taken damage equal to the missing percent of them, which was near 100%. Blake bent her knees and twirled her knew weapon Gambol Shroud in a full ark before lifting it till the blade rested against her cheek. **Zantetsuken.** The black energy emanating from it highlighted specific areas on Octavia's body. "This is it for you. Your friends are next."

Blake took one step forward and swung her sword down at Octavia as she flew towards her, defenseless. There was a flash of crimson light, and then Blake disappeared. Octavia's body flew at the feet of Gwen and Nebula; only her colors were monochrome, and she wasn't in one piece. The two girls looked up in horror as Blake reappeared in a flurry of glowing pink cherry blossoms. She flicked her sword out, and the blood on it spattered to the ground. She turned around and looked dead into the eyes of Nebula and Gwen with her amber ones, now full of fire. The dark night. The fire from the caravan down the road. Along with her long wild hair blowing in the wind gave her the appearance of a monster.

~ 0 ~

The other two girls whimpered and drew their weapons up. Blake narrowed her eyes at the two of them and chuckled. Two down, two to go. I really should thank Jaune for the new gear.

**Dimension Door. **With that, Blake disappeared again in a flurry of cherry blossoms. Gwen looked at her party leader and frowned as she drew her cloak around her tightly and faded from view with the rustle of grass. Nebula looked around from side to side with wide eyes, brandishing her sword. "Where are you, you, you bitch!" She stumbled backward and grabbed for Gwen. She gripped her friend tightly and pulled herself up. "Did you see her? She can't move too far with teleport skills watch our backs." **Death**

She was cut off as a familiar burning, and invasive sensation spread through her back into her chest. She looked down to see a thin black blade sticking out of her chest. "What?" She fell to her knees, dropping her sword. She reached up and gripped the blade with both of her hands. "How?"

Nebula felt the person behind her lean down next to her and move closer to her ear. She could hear the smirked in the other girl's tone and shivered. "I'm an assassin. Killing people is what I do." Nebula's eyes went wide as she felt the blade twist and get wrenched out as a foot was placed on her shoulder, kicking her off. She fell forward into the dirt with a thud as the color faded from her.

Blake put her sword between her forearm and bicep, adding pressure as she drew it across to clean the blood off. With a sigh, she swung her blade out narrowed her eyes at the knife about a meter from her face and then to the scarred face of the girl whose neck her sword was pressed against. "And then there was one."

Gwen dropped her knife and backed up a couple of steps. Blake made no move to follow and just looked on with a curious expression. Gwen took her lack of action as being out of SP, AP both or just on some restriction after using an instant kill skill. She took two more steps back and then whirled around into a run. She kept looking over her shoulder at Blake until she ran into something solid.

She bounced back and rubbed her butt with a wince looking up at what she'd run into. Her eyes met with the blond guy from earlier. Her eyes widened when she targeted him and saw nothing but his name. Crocea Mors. It clicked. He was the NPC on the front of the game. The community voted main character and face of Remnant. He sighed and lifted his blade, now glowing a brilliant silver color. She held her hands up, waving frantically. "No! No, no, no, wait, please. We can talk!"

Jaune gripped his sword in both hands and closed his eyes. He was starting to feel tired. It had been a long day, and he still had that promise to keep with Blake. He opened his eyes and looked up at her. She was watching him with a calm expression. What was she waiting for? Did she want him to finish her? Could he? She didn't seem to be armed. Did she have a lot of health left? Did it matter? He looked down at the girl and let his sword drop. She smiled up at him as he crouched down. "Oh, thank you. I don't know what I was going to do. I can't just die like this with my friends out too. It would suck if we all lost our gear. I mean, they don't even do this stuff. I messed up my character and…"

"You have ten seconds to run." Jaune stood back up and watched her expression change.

"...and, Wait, what?"

"Nine."

Gwen didn't need to be told twice. She scrambled to her feet and dashed off into the forest. Blake walked over to Jaune with a scowl on her face. She couldn't believe he'd just let her go like that. That black-haired girl was the one they had to kill for the mark! She lifted her hand to slap Jaune across the face when he gripped his head and let out a yelp of pain. "Jaune!" Blake rushed to see what was wrong, but he held out a hand and told her to stand back. She looked up at him, worried when he looked back at her through the cracks in his fingers.

His eyes were a glowing crimson, and they were growing brighter. His right hand was on his knee, supporting himself, and his breathing was labored. Blake had never seen people react quite like that to anything in the game. **Apocalypse.** She could see some weird halo looking thing appear above his head, and then he let out a yell as a few red beads of light shimmered in the air in front of him. Suddenly his head snapped back, and the forest exploded into a maelstrom. There were consecutive explosions, and the earth rolled as trees and boulders were sent flying high into the air.

Blake turned to take everything in with wide-eyed disbelief. She'd heard of level 300 players with skills strong enough to level entire guild castles, but she'd never seen one herself, or proof that they even existed. While Blake looked at the forest, she had to admit that they just might be real. She could hear the screech of grim as they died, and she saw the EXP counter pop up over Jaune's head, all the while red crosses made of glowing crimson sprouted out of the ground. Then there was another scream, one that was entirely human; a silvery green cross popped up in the middle of all the red ones to accompany the cry.

Blake put a hand on her hip and smiled, impressed. "And they were never heard from again."

This was something Blake would remember forever. It was a game, sure. But to see that kind of power through your own eyes. To see what it did. Was awe-inspiring. "Jaune what did you just…" *Thump* "…Jaune?" She looked to her side to see Jaune collapsed on the floor. "Jaune!"

~ 0 ~

Blake sighed while she looked out at the dark empty fields outside of Vale. The steady repetitive rock of the wagon she was in wasn't doing much to help her to stay focused. She took a deep breath and looked down at Jaune. He was laying down along the empty bench she sat on with his head resting on her lap. She brushed some of his hair from his face and shook her head. She just couldn't believe he'd done that. It was terrifying but awesome at the same time. He really was one of a kind. Level 75 and he had something even the top ten guilds coveted. She frowned to herself. Was that why someone was after him?

It didn't matter right now. After Jaune had passed out, the caravan had offered them a ride back to Vale and set them up in a carriage as a favor for helping them. Once she'd gotten them situated, she'd logged out to check on Jaune in his room. His ID's health monitor said he was fine, just asleep, so he was probably just tired from the day. He had been out since they logged off earlier, and he'd done most, well all of the moving for her. She smiled down at him and gently caressed his cheek. "Thank you, Jaune. You're one hell of a friend." She closed her eyes and pulled her legs up a bit and hugged him.

"Mmmm. Blake?" She Blinked and let her legs slide back down, looking down at Jaune with an unreadable expression. He was looking up at her through groggy eyes and then covered his mouth to yawn.

When he finished, he rubbed his eyes while grinning up at her. She smirked back down at him with a raised eyebrow. "What? Something on my face."

He shook his head and then paused, having just realized where he was lying. Instead of bringing attention to their situation, he decided to enjoy it while it lasted and just smiled up at her. He lifted his hand, giving her a number one hand gesture. "We did it." Blake smiled back at him and nodded with a small twitch of her feline ears. "And you were amazing."

Granted, she'd taken out three almost entirely on her own, but she wasn't a jerk. If Jaune hadn't saved her at the beginning, then she'd have been dead before taking out one of them. Not only that, but he'd stayed alive and beaten one into a state where her **Death** skill would work. Hell, he even took one out in the craziest way she'd ever seen someone do it. The girl was pretty much harmless at the end, but he had literally destroyed part of an entire forest and the grimm inside in an instant. She saw why he let her run at first. Not to mention that from what she did see, she'd never seen someone fight like him, Knight, and Adept Rogue was an interesting class combination. Blake's smile became a catty smirk, and she took hold of Jaune's hand, pulling up another finger while raising her own signaling number one. "Yeah, and you're something else."

Jaune smacked his lips and rolled his eyes good-naturedly. "Whatever."

He reached up to rub his head, but Blake grabbed his wrist and moved to hover right over him. "And where do you think your grabbing Sir. Dork knight?" Jaune looked at her curiously and quirked an eyebrow. His gaze trailed from her face to where the back of his head met her belly and just a bit higher. He flushed and sat up quickly. Blake gave a throaty chuckle and brought her feet up on the seat, folding her knees against her chest. "Pervert." He spluttered and looked at her with a look of disbelief. "Do I need to buy a lock for my door?"

Jaune closed his mouth and folded his arms as he threw himself against the back of the seat. "There's already a lock. I had one in the closet and put it on while you were in the bathroom setting up your stuff."

Blake blinked in surprise, looking over at him. She'd just meant it to tease him. But. "Really? You installed a lock for me?"

He eyed her from the corner of his eye and put on airs. "Should I uninstall it?"

Blake leaned back and looked up at the dark sky. She took a deep breath and shrugged. "I trust you."

Jaune blinked a couple of times while looking at Blake. "You trust me? What does that mean?"

His response drew a laugh from Blake, and she fell to the side, leaning against him while holding her gut. "You know, Jaune, dense as lead doesn't even begin to describe it.

He was about to ask her what that meant, too, when the sky suddenly lit up a bit. He and Blake both looked up to see all the stars in the night sky start to fall one by one in brilliant showers of colored light. Jaune reached a hand out to the sky and held his hand over a particular purple colored one. He clasped his hand in perfect synchronization with it as it exploded into a shower of amethyst.

He looked down to his side at Blake, who was looking up at the falling starlight. He could see the purple light reflected in her irises, and he had to admit, purple really did suit her. She smiled up at the sky but slowly and distractedly turned to look at him, catching him staring. She smirked again. "What?"

He just leaned back and threw his arms across the back of the seat while smiling back at her, a lazy tilt to his head. "I think I have a new favorite hobby." He just enjoyed the confused expression on her face and the colorful showers of starlight as they carried on to town in the back of their carriage.

**~ 0 ~**

**Authors Notes**

**Alright. Sorry about the wait. I stayed up till 3 in the morning, waiting for my friend to send this and passed out on the keyboard. Turns out she did too. So anyway it's done and it's posted. Let me know what you think about the fight scenes and let me know what you want to see more and less of.**

**Regarding Jaune's new ability, I will be adding those into the author's notes of ch 10 when he himself goes over what he found and obtained.**

**~ 0 ~**


	9. Chapter 9

Project Remnant

I do not own RWBY

~ 0 ~

"_Thoughts"_

"Speech"

'words with implied meaning.'

Regular text

**Menu info/ abilities, skills, combos**

_**Enemy and ally info/ abilities, skills combos **_

**"Disembodied voice/ Messages."**

**"**_**Disembodied thoughts /Memories."**_

~ Ch 9 ~

~ A night to remember ~

~ 0 ~

"Whoa. Alright, everybody off. We're here."

"Yeah, no shit captain obvious. There's only a giant city gate in front of us."

"Can it. I'll finish the quest. Everyone else, thanks for the help. We'll meet up again after the event. Say Thursday. Take care and enjoy the event."

"GG."

"Good game, guys."

"Nice one peeps!"

"Hell yeah."

"Gourmands' Bistro, here I come!"

At the party leader's words, everyone hopped off the wagons and carriages, mingling a bit or heading off into town. Jaune stepped off one of the carts and turned to help Blake down, but she rolled her eyes and hopped off. "So, Blake, where to next?"

The raven-haired beauty pointed at the Adventurer taskmaster. "First, we need to get our things from the ATM before we lose them. Then we'll head back to the hunters guild and finish up the request." She rubbed her forehead with a sigh and took a deep breath. "Hopefully, we'll get the information we're looking for. I just hope it's not something we can't handle."

Jaune nodded while rubbing his wrist absentmindedly. A far off look in his eyes. "Yeah." He'd drunk an elixir earlier, and given one to Blake as well, but he could still feel where Nebula's sword had been. It didn't hurt, but it left a similar feeling to when something was missing. Only he was glad it was gone. He was pulled from his thoughts when Blake smacked his shoulder, making him stumble forward a couple of steps. He glanced over his shoulder at her to see a friendly smirk play across her lips. "Really, Blake?"

She just shrugged and folded her arms while walking past him. He followed after her only to be stopped by a tug on his sleeve. "Hey, excuse me. Um. I was wondering about something."

It was a boy. Well, a young man a little younger than him. Probably Ruby's age. If Jaune remembered correctly, Blake had pointed him out earlier as the one who advocated for giving them a lift while he'd been out cold. "Um… Oscar, right?" Jaune asked, unsure if he had remembered correctly. The boy nodded with a bright look in his eyes. "Uh. What did you want to ask me?"

Oscar rubbed his chin while opening and closing his mouth as if trying to find the right words. "How…did you…do that?" Jaune quirked an eyebrow and tilted his head. Oscar raised his hands and pantomimed something before letting out a sigh and shaking his head. "I don't know how to describe it. It was that skill; at least I think it was a skill. You know when you blew up the forest." Jaune made an 'oh' sound and shrugged while looking up as if trying to remember. "You mean, you don't know?"

Jaune folded his arms and shook his head again. "Sorry. That was the first time I've ever used it. I don't even know how I got it." Which was a lie; he had a good idea of where it came from and how he'd gotten it, but that way lay questions, Lots of them. Ones he didn't have the answers to either. So a little white lie would work. The disappointed look on the boy's face didn't help the feeling of guilt though.  
"It just popped up in my skill list at some point. Sorry." He waved to the boy and headed off after Blake, who was standing by the ATM with a disapproving look.

~ 0 ~

Oscar watched Jaune head off with a suspicious look. He didn't even know what kind of skill It was that Jaune had used, but it was honestly OP AF. He'd just been standing there next to his friends when they saw the blond knight grab his head, and then there had been those beads of light, and boom. The entire forest had exploded. The damage numbers popping up had easily broken 9999. The EXP had been massive as well. If it had just popped up in his skill list, then it had to be one won during a special event, or limited-time quest, or even one of the secret skills that you had to do a bunch of practically impossible things to obtain.

Aside from that skill, Jaune and Blake's fighting had been incredible. The PKers had all been lvl 153-187. The black-haired beauty, Blake, a lvl 143, and acrobatic knight Jaune, a lvl 72, had taken them out like it was nothing. Okay, nothing was exaggerating it, but they'd made it look so easy. The two had even let his Party keep the gear from three of the PKers. That was unheard of. Higher-level players never gave noobs proper equipment from a kill. It went against the 'get stronger' policy of the game, not to mention the possibility of making a potential rival stronger.

Just then, Oscar almost fell forward as one of his party members slung an arm around his shoulders. It was the bard who'd invited him to it in the first place. "Hey, Oscar. I can't believe those two just showed up out of nowhere like that. Do you seriously not know either of them?" He looked at his companion and shook his head. "Damn. Guess we can't depend on them to help us out later. Oh well. Anyway. My girlfriend is waiting for me in town. She wants to hang out and explore the festival event. See ya later, little man."

Oscar waved after the guy, with a smile. "Later, Coal." He looked back over at Blake and Jaune, seeing Blake swat Jaune's hand as he lifted it towards his head. Oscar frowned, rubbing his chin. He'd meant to ask Jaune something else that was nagging him. He could have sworn they'd met before. He looked so~ familiar. Oscar pulled up the video he'd taken of the two and scrutinized it. Then it hit him. His eyes widened, and he closed the video and looked up to find them only they weren't at the ATM anymore. "What? Where did they go?" He whirled around and scanned the growing crowd trying to get inside Vale for the festival event.

A few people shoved him while he tried to find them among the masses, but he couldn't even see anyone with black or blonde hair. He sighed, giving up. Oscar scratched his head and pulled up the video again, with a smirk and a gleam in his eyes. "Hmm. I wonder what everyone is going to think once I edit this and post it to the community Forum?

~ 0 ~

"Ilia, we're back," Blake called as She and Jaune walked into the hunters guild office. A few people were milling about, checking the Mark board, or talking to the guy at the front desk. Ilia popped out from behind the curtain to the back and waved them over.

The two walked up, and Ilia gestured to the counter. Jaune looked at Blake, confused. His companion opened her inventory, and all of Gwen's gear dropped onto the countertop. Ilia pulled up a window and started checking boxes. "…Any throwing weapons, Masters Shroud, Devilish gown, Marching heels, apostate's bracers, etc. etc. Well, it looks like everything is here." Ilia closed the box and pulled out a storage box, putting the gear inside before turning around and placing it in one of the drawers behind the counter. "Alright. I guess that's one more mark on your record and…" She turned around and popped a small party popper. Confetti and small streamers filled the air around her as a message popped up in front of Jaune.

**Congratulations!**  
**You are now an accomplice member of the hunters guild.**

Jaune looked at the message then to Blake, who was covering her face. A few people in the room cheered, and someone whistled while another comment about him getting his cherry popped. He smiled awkwardly and closed the box while Ilia clapped quietly. "Congratulations, Jaune."

He shifted uncomfortably, and Blake sighed while fixing Ilia with a firm gaze. "Alright, enough celebrating. Can we have the thank you letter and our reward for the mark?" Ilia laughed nervously and handed Blake the letter associated with their mark. Blake's friend rubbed her arm bashfully and mentioned the backer's name being at the top, which received an eye-roll from Blake. The rust haired girl flushed and disappeared behind the curtain, leaving the two to go over the letter.  
Blake grimaced at the curtain while Jaune looked between the two and grinned. "Not a word, Jaune."

"But I didn't even say anything."

She gave him a commanding look that slowly morphed into a warm, sickly sweet smile. "Not a word. Okay?"

Jaune gulped and held his hands up. "alright. Not a word." Blake narrowed her eyes. Jaune started sweating and backed up a step. "Honestly!" Blake stepped into his personal space and glared at him. Jaune stumbled and fell back against the counter. "What!"  
She glanced at his lips and then back to his eyes and held up the letter as if to hit him with it. A look of realization crossed his features. He slid his fingers across his lips before making a locking motion and throwing away the key.

Blake nodded in approval and made to open the letter when someone in the office laughed. And others shot them looks.  
"Haha."  
"Whokish."  
"Whipped."

Jaune shot the people a wtf look over Blake's shoulder, but she pulled him to face the letter with her. "Ignore them, Jaune."  
He made to protest but gave a sigh and looked down at the letter as Blake opened it. Text boxes popped up in front of both of them.

**Mark 2032**

**Request: Fox**

**Target: Gwen**  
**LVL:167**  
**Guild: Shade**  
**Affiliation: Mistral**  
**Danger Level: Minor**  
**Time limit: October 3rd**

**Reward/s: **  
**20,000,000 G**  
**Referral for entering the Holy Palace**  
**Proof of Valor **

**We appreciate your assisting us in removing this nuisance. Thanks to you, our supply routes to the port town of Cliff and Patch should be clear for a while. We may call upon your services in the future.**  
**Thank you on behalf of the Holy Palace Huntsman Guild**

After reading, Jaune looked at Blake, who'd gone stiff. She looked back at him, their eyes meeting. "What the fuck did you do yesterday?" Jaune opened his mouth to respond, but Blake shoved him with a glare. "You lied about such a small thing earlier. Don't lie to me again."

Jaune rubbed his arm, working his jaw, trying to figure out what to say. He didn't want to tell her everything. "I-I. I just logged in yesterday. I spawned into the field where I died during the beta. I just made my way to town after that. I ran into a few people who tried to PK me, and I beat them, then I got someone to guide me the rest of the way. I sold an Item at the auction house and went to the cathedral. After that, I wandered around Vale. I honestly didn't do anything out of the ordinary."  
She watched him with a scrutinizing gaze, and he stepped back, raising his hands defensively. "I'm not lying, Blake. I have no clue why anyone would be targeting me."  
He took a deep breath and met Blake's gaze with a tired one. "Look, Blake, I don't want to argue like we did earlier. Can you just drop it? Please?"

Blake continued to glare at him as he placed a hand on her shoulder, and she slapped it away. "How can I just brush this off! Jaune, this is serious. You're being targeted by one of the biggest guilds in the game. And you expect me to believe you didn't do anything. Why are you so difficult when I'm trying to help you? Just tell me."

He let his hand drop and looked at the ground between them. "Blake, I'm not difficult. I'm just being realistic. I told you I have no idea who they are or what I did to make them come after me." He looked up into her eyes again and put both of his hands on her arms, stepping closer. "I'd much rather forget about this for now and enjoy the rest of the night."

Blake felt her stomach squirm as she became acutely aware of how close they were. She glanced at his hands on her arms and then looked into his eyes, taking a deep breath before looking down at her feet. "Jaune, take this seriously, because 'they' are. They put a hit on you in less than 24 hours of you logging in for crying out loud."

His grip on her arms tightened, and she winced a bit. He shook her gently, getting her to meet his gaze again. "Blake, stop. We did good today, and I'm grateful for all of your help, you were amazing, but…"

She froze at the tired expression he wore as well as the pause after the but. Was he going to tell her to go away? Had she pushed too much? Her cat ears flattened sadly against her head as she glanced away. She was surprised when he pulled her against his chest, wrapping his arms around her in a hug. The tone of his voice made her feel like crap. He sounded exhausted, frustrated, and she could hear the pleading undertone. "…I just want to enjoy the evening with you right now."

Blake relaxed in his embrace and nodded, feeling like a terrible friend. She sighed and wrapped her arms around him. "Jaune. I didn't mean to…I'm sorry. Relaxing sounds like a great idea." She leaned back and looked up at him, poking his chest. "you're paying for everything though." She stepped away and turned around. "Making me worry about you." She said to herself.

"Are you…really worried about me?" Blake froze and looked over her shoulder at him, stunned. Had he heard her? The small smirk on his face made her stomach squirm. Bad or good, she couldn't tell. "You know you look pretty cute when you're worried about something."  
She felt her stomach drop, and her skin crawled at the words, as a memory came to her. One she wished she could forget. She looked away, and she pushed Jaune before storming off.

Jaune stumbled back against the counter and rubbed his arm where she'd shoved him. He stood back up and quickly followed her. "Blake! What's wrong? Wait up. What did I say?" All the while, she sped up, pulling her hood down around her head tighter and tighter to avoid being seen.

~ 0 ~

Jaune had tried following Blake, but he'd lost her in the crowd at some point. He was stupid and awkward when it came to social ques. A tired breath escaped him as he walked up to the railing of a plaza overlooking a good portion of the city. He leaned against the railing and propped his head on his hand, looking up at the starless night sky. "What a joke. What did you think was going to happen, Jaune? She already told you to stop saying stuff like that. But…" *sigh*. His head fell to his arms, laying across the railing.

"15 minutes till midnight, and the start of the All's well festival!"

He looked over his shoulder to see an NPC standing next to the small clock-post in the center of the small plaza. Looking up at the clock, he saw it was indeed fifteen till. He grimaced and turned back around. Head hanging. He took a deep breath and looked out over Vale. The lights around the town had changed colors from the usual white to a warmer yellow with reds in certain places accompanied by the banners that sprawled around the city, going from green to white and gold. "Where did she go?"

Someone came up next to Jaune, putting their hands on the rail and looked out at the city with him. He glanced to his left to see who it was and blinked—surprised to see the rabbit-eared faunus, Scarlet. "Uh. Hey, Scarlet." He looked around, trying to remember where he was exactly, and if it was close to her shop. Sure enough across the plaza was the ally her shop was located down. Looking back at her, he offered a warm smile. "You closed up for the event? Or were you about to log out?"

She smiled while looking out over the city and shrugged. "Haven't decided yet. I was hoping to see the festival with someone, but I haven't gotten a response from them. What about you?"

Jaune smiled awkwardly and let out an unenthusiastic laugh. "I guess I'm in a similar boat. I even called into class tomorrow and busted my ass to clear my schedule, but…she ran off."

Scarlet smiled inwardly to herself and turned around, hopping up to sit on the rail. "She? What did you do to scare her off?" she asked in a teasing tone while kicking her legs. Jaune frowned in embarrassment and looked away while rubbing the back of his head. Scarlet covered her mouth as she giggled and patted his shoulder. "Sorry, love, I'm just teasing. You don't have to answer."

Jaune's shoulders relaxed, and he let out a breath while pushing up and folding his arms across the railing. "I didn't scare her off. I think I pissed her off," He said calmly. His tone made Scarlet stop giggling, and she looked at his placid expression. "All day, I've been teasing her, and we got into a couple of stupid arguments. I'm not going to say it's not my fault or that it's her's, but they definitely could have been avoided. I guess we aren't as close as I thought."

He stood up and walked backward, plopping down on the bench behind him, still gazing out at the city. "I mean, I'm not great with the whole friends, and being social, thing. I grew up sheltered and." He reached up to his head and caught himself. Instead, scratching his cheek with a weak smile. "Let's just say stuff happened. I try too hard to keep and make friends and get too comfortable too quickly. It leads to misunderstandings pretty often, and…" He chuckled, sounding confused. "…and I don't know why I'm saying all this."  
He looked up at Scarlet with an apologetic smile and laughed weakly. "My bad. I didn't mean to say all that. Just…nevermind."

Scarlet smiled warmly down at him and shook her head. It was funny, but it felt nice that he'd open up like that. "No, it's alright. Completely relatable even. After all, I rambled about my friends and my shop when you first came in. I think I have the same problem regarding friends and trusting too quickly." She tapped her fingers together and blushed. "You wouldn't have dropped in on me the way you did if I didn't."

They both laughed awkwardly at the moment, and Jaune shrugged. "Birds of a feather, I guess."

Scarlet smiled warmly at the thought and got quiet while observing him. "Hey, Jaune."

"Hmm?"

She pulled her leg up and grabbed her foot before resting it on his shoulder and tapped his head. He blinked and looked up at her with a confused look. She pointed up at her ears and smiled. "I'm a rabbit. Rabbit's feet are lucky." He opened his mouth but didn't know what to say or what she meant. She smiled warmly at him and tilted her head cutely "Jaune. Do you want to go to the festival together?"

~ 0 ~

Blake took a deep breath and clutched at her chest as she collapsed down under the large tree behind the Cathedral in the center of town. It was her favorite spot, one of the only places in the city that had trees and grass. It was secluded and helped her calm down or gather her thoughts. Not to mention it doubled as the ideal reading spot, and the soft music-box in the background was a nice touch. She pulled out her favorite book. The one she'd been reading earlier today, and opened it to the bookmarked page.  
She looked at the book in confusion and blinked. It was upside-down,

_**"You enjoying your book up there?" He said through a yawn. "Must be quite a skill to read backward and upside-down."**_

_**She made a noncommittal noise while putting a bookmark in the book and closed it storing it in her inventory with a flush.**_

She almost smiled at the embarrassing memory from earlier today, but that feeling from just a few minutes ago came back as well. A frown came to her as she flipped the book right-side-up and leaned against the tree. "Stupid blond." She tried to read, but she couldn't get the day's events out of her head. Everything from that amazing breakfast Jaune had made, to losing her apartment, and everything that happened in the game. She let her book hang limply in her hands and pulled her legs against her chest, burying her face against her knees. _"Why do you keep complimenting me and teasing me? We aren't little kids anymore, and why did I run off? It's not like you did anything wrong." _

Just then, Blake got a message. It was from Scarlet. She opened it. Inside was a screenshot of Jaune leaning against a rail overlooking part of Vale. He looked drained. A text accompanied the image.

**"He looks pretty glum. What happened? I've been watching him for a few minutes in case you were busy for a couple of shakes. **  
**But it's been ten minutes. I thought you two were going to the festival together. I warned you. If you didn't want Jaune, I'd ask. Well, wish me luck. :)"**

Blake finished reading the message and scowled before closing it. Jaune's stupid smile and warm expression popped into her head. The fact he'd given her a place to stay. Rent-free to boot. Then the bow. Granted, there had been a couple of hiccups in what would have been a perfect day, but they were negligible. She pulled up the image Scarlet had sent of Jaune. His wistful expression was reminding her of a dog who'd been abandoned.

She wasn't a dog person in the least, but when she pictured Jaune as a dog, it just worked, and it tickled her. Seeing Jaune's expression, so similar to what she'd seen after Ruby and Yang. It just didn't sit right with her. She wanted to be there for him. _"Like he is for me. Was. This morning. Medicine and breakfast." _She flushed and groaned._ "Blake, get over it. You're just friends, and he's nice to everyone. Why are you getting worked up? Why did you run off…"_  
She got lost in thought for a while, something in the back of her mind nagging at her. A memory was rising to the surface. _"…Why do you always run off?" _

Back when she was seven years old, a few months after she'd met Jaune, She ran away from home. Or as much as a seven-year-old could. She was thinking back on it. It was on the night of a festival like tonight. She smiled to herself. _"I think I'd gotten in a fight with my mom about what I was going to wear."_ She remembered running out of her house with her favorite Black yukata in her hands while crying because her mom had helped her put on the dark purple one.

That part of the memory struck her as funny. Purple was one of her two favorite colors right now. The Yukata had even been the same shade she liked right now. Why had she hated it back then?

She'd run through the woods her house was right next too because It ran to the town where the festival was always held. She wasn't sure why she'd run in there in the first place. She'd cut through there tons of times as a shortcut, but those had all been with her friends during the day. That night she'd been too upset to think straight or at all. She chalked it up to young stupidity. Hindsight 20/20, it had been a bad idea all around. She was seven years old, at night, wearing old wooden geta and a tight yukata.

She'd gotten lost and found herself huddled against a tree, feet aching, dirty, tired, and cold, for god knows how long. By the time someone found her, the All's Well Festival had ended, and…  
Suddenly a notification popped up in front of Blake's eyes.

**Happy October 2****nd****, International no violence day**

**Thank you for being logged in during the final countdown to the**  
**"All's Well Festival"**

**As a thank you for being such a dedicated player and supporter of **  
**"The World of Remnant" **  
**You have been awarded several cosmetic items that will last for the next 48 hours, till the end of the All's Well Festival.**

**Enjoy!**

**48s till Festival**

Blake hit the close box on the notification, and a cosmetics box popped up in front of her. This one didn't have a close icon, so she tapped it. It started shaking and glowing, then exploded in confetti and light so bright she had to cover her eyes to avoid getting blinded. She also felt a lot lighter, and her clothes felt different. Looking down, she blinked in surprise. She was wearing a dark purple yukata with a black butterfly print and a black sash with a white undergarment. Her hair also felt different, so she opened up the avatar mirror to see it. Her hair was styled in a half bun half ponytail, her bangs hanging in waves by her cheeks with two ornamental needles sticking through the bun.

**3**

**2**

"Found you."  
_**"Found you."**_

**1**

~ Song - Pompeii, by Bastille ~

…the one who'd found her. The one who always found her had been.

"…Jaune…"  
_**"…Jaune…"**_

There he was. Standing there with her favorite book in hand, holding it out to her before placing it in her lap, all while still wearing his stupid smile.  
"Blake."  
_**"Blake."**_

Fireworks shot in the starless sky above the city, erupting and lighting up everything in a rainbow of colors. The scene before her was so similar to her memory. She felt her eyes get hot, and a smile spread across her features.  
He was wearing his usual gear minus weapons, armor, and straps, leaving him in a blue coat with black pants and brown boots. A much younger Jaune appeared in her mind's eye, wearing a blue hoodie and black jeans with brown loafers. He was leaning down in front of her holding out her black yukata. Slightly dirty but folded.

"Hey."  
_**"Hey."**_  
"You know."  
_**"You know." **_  
"You look pretty in that color."  
"_**You look pretty in that color."**_

Blake looked down and closed her eyes, feeling like an idiot for lots of reasons. She wiped her tears away before they could fall while letting out a soft laugh. _"Oh yeah. That's why I like purple so much. I guess kids are pretty impressionable." _With a shaky breath, she relaxed and leaned back against the tree.

She looked at Jaune as he plopped down next to her, letting out a tired breath. "Blake, I'm sorry. You know, for teasing you earlier. I didn't think you'd run off like that." He leaned back against the tree with her and looked up at the fireworks lighting up the sky with a small smile. "Can you forgive me for being socially inept?"

She hadn't expected that at all. With a shake of her head, she rested her elbows on her knees, arms outstretched, fingers weaved. "Is there anything to forgive? I mean, I teased you too. I just." She turned to look at Jaune, and tilted her head, offering a small apologetic smirk. "It's not your fault. I don't know what got into me. I'm sorry."

Jaune pulled one of his knees up, folding his arms over it, and leaned forward to rest his head on his arms while meeting her gaze. "Let's call it even and forget about it then." Blake nodded before looking up at the colorful display when Jaune spoke again. "You know." Jaune closed his eyes. "If you close your eyes, does it almost feel like we've been here before?"

Blake's eyes widened, but she kept still, trying not to look over at Jaune. Instead, she kept looking up at the fireworks. Did he remember their time together? She quickly glanced in his direction and saw him smiling nostalgically. He opened his eyes and looked over to her, but she glanced away before their eyes could meet. With a shrug, she smiled to herself, closing her eyes as she fell back into her memory. _"It almost feels like nothing changed at all." _The two of them sitting under that tree all those years ago, watching the fireworks for the end of the All's Well Festival. She slowly leaned against Jaune's shoulder, feeling his warmth. She opened her eyes and looked up at Jaune, who was lost in the firework show like he had been when they were kids. She smiled at his expression and then looked up to watch the show with him.

The firework show ended with a rapid-fire of colors in the shape of lots of monsters, animals, grimm, and famous guild symbols. As the last of them faded, the air filled with a steady, chill beat as the background music for the festival came on.

~ Life could be a dream - Trap Remix ~

Jaune smiled and laughed while Blake shifted off of him. Haha. "No way. Are they using this song? Wow. I guess life really can be a dream."

Blake shook her head and smiled along with him as the two stood up. At least it's quiet and not distracting. I don't know the song, but it is pretty good. It's not something that'll drive you crazy. At least I hope not." She took a deep breath and folded her arms while turning to face Jaune, who was stretching pretty animatedly, which drew a smile from her. "So, sir dork knight. Don't you have somewhere to be?"

Jaune froze while leaning backward and looked up at Blake upsidedown with a confused look. "What do you mean?" His gaze shifted around the empty garden they were in, and he straightened up while rubbing his chin. "Were we supposed to do something else before the festival?"

Blake let out a breath and gave him an unimpressed look. "Scarlet told me you two were going to hit the festival together after I ditched you. It's not polite to keep a girl waiting."

Jaune blinked in surprise and then cleared his throat while looking away as he rubbed the back of his head, which made Blake scowl at him. "Well, um." He looked back to her with a lame smile and shrugged. "She did ask me, but. Well. I told her that I already promised to go with you even if I had to run around all night looking for you or log out and apologize IRL. Tonight I'm here to be with you.

Blake flushed and looked away. Why did Jaune have to be such a good friend compared to her? It was hard to feel bad when he made her feel happy, but she couldn't enjoy the good feelings because she felt like She wasn't measuring up. "Damn it, Jaune," she mumbled. Sniffing, she rubbed her eyes before she could tear up. "You are such a dork."  
_"But, you're an excellent friend. I couldn't ask for a better one."_  
Jaune could see the sad look in her eyes and frowned, feeling stumped. Suddenly he got a thought and opened his multimedia tab. Hopefully, the game would let him access his music folder. He grinned when he found the app and hit a song while striking a dramatic pose beckoning to her. "Jaune, what are you…"

He smiled at her and spread his arms wide as the song started playing, overpower the BGM.  
"Hey nonny ding dong, alang alang alang."  
"Boom ba-doh, ba-doo ba-doodle-ay."

Blake covered her mouth and laughed at his words. "What are you singing?"

He brought his hands together and pulled them against his chest while looking into her eyes and tilted his head as he bobbed while swaying side to side.  
"Oh, life could be a dream."  
"Sh-boom."  
"If I could take you up in paradise up above."  
"Sh-boom."  
"If you would tell me I'm the only one that you love."  
"Life could be a dream, sweetheart."

She tried to force a straight face as he continued, but it was almost impossible. "Jaune. Seriously. Don't say those things…pfff…if you don't mean them." Hahaha. She slapped her hands over her mouth.

Jaune grinned back and spun around while waving with a surprised yet happy expression. "Hello, hello again, sh-boom and hope we meet again."

He spun back around and took a couple of steps back while waving goodbye before he stopped and started swaying while bobbing again. Blake shook her head and gave him an amused look. "Are you trying to do something here?"

Jaune winked and tapped the side of his nose.  
"Oh, life could be a dream."  
"Sh-boom."  
"If only all my precious plans would come true."  
"Sh-boom."  
"If you would let me spend my whole life lovin' you."  
"Life could be a dream, sweetheart."

Blake doubled over laughing and staggered towards him. "Jaune, stop! It's too much. How do you know such an old song?" She fell against him and looked up at him with an amused expression. He grinned down at her as he took her hands, pulling her along smoothly, dancing with her as the two moved side to side. Blake felt herself fall into his rhythm even though she'd never been one for dancing, it was more Yang and Weiss' thing, but she had to admit, this was nice. She closed her eyes, enjoying the moment for what it was and started swaying side to side and bobbing her head as Jaune led.

"Now, every time I look at you, something is on my mind."  
"dat-dat-dat-dat-dat-duh."  
"If you do what I want you to, baby, we'd be so fine."  
"Oh, life could be a dream."  
"sh-boom."  
"If I could take you up in paradise up above."  
"sh-boom."  
"If you would tell me I'm the only one that you love."  
"Life could be a dream, sweetheart."

Jaune smiled down at Blake, relieved that whatever was getting her down seemed to have slipped her mind with his little performance. He let go of one of her hands and spun her around while she kept her eyes closed before pulling her back in and placing her against his left side as they continued to dance together.  
"Sh-boom sh-boom."  
"Ya-da-da da-da-da da-da-da da."  
"Sh-boom Sh-boom."  
"Ya-da-da da-da-da da-da-da da."  
"Sh-boom sh-boom."  
"Ya-da-da da-da-da da-da-da da."  
"Sh-boom!"  
"Sh-boom sh-boom."  
"Ya-da-da da-da-da da-da-da da."  
"Sh-boom Sh-boom."  
"Ya-da-da da-da-da da-da-da da."  
"Sh-boom sh-boom."  
"Ya-da-da da-da-da da-da-da da."  
"Sh-boom!"

Blake's eyes opened as Jaune let go of her, and she saw the blond goof standing a few feet in front of her. The marketplace behind him lit up in warm yellow light.  
"Now, every time I look at you, something is on my mind."  
"If you do what I want you to baby, we'd be so fine."

At that moment, a few people started clapping and cheering. Blake's eyes widened as she realized that people were watching them. She froze and watched as Jaune beamed at her, really getting into it. "Jaune…Jaune stop," She said nervously.

"Oh, life could be a dream."  
"If I could take you up in paradise up above."  
"If you would tell me I'm the only one that you love."  
"Life could be a dream, sweetheart."  
Blake Spun around and tried walking away, but Jaune slid up in front of her faster than she thought he could and smiled warmly at her.

"Hello, hello again, sh-boom and hope we meet again."  
"Boom sh-boom."

She tried to turn around, but Jaune took her hands and started dancing with her again. She didn't want to, but she couldn't stop herself from moving along with him nor the smile that spread across her face.

"Hey nonny ding dong, alang alang alang, sh-boom."  
"ba-doh, ba-doo ba-doodle-ay."  
"Life could be a dream."  
"Life could be a dream, sweetheart."  
"Life could be a dream."  
"If only all my precious plans would come true."  
"If you would let me spend my whole life lovin' you."  
"Life could be a dream, sweetheart."

As Jaune's song came to an end, and the BGM filled the air again, everyone around them started cheering louder. Several people whistled, and a few even shouted for a second performance. Blake's cat ears fell against her head, and she covered her face as she leaned against Jaune's chest. "Jaune, you are such an idiot. Why did you do that?"

She felt his chest shake with laughter, and she scowled up at him, but he just smiled back. "It was fun."

She couldn't stop the embarrassed flush that rose in her cheeks, and she covered her face again while slamming her fist against his chest. "Arc. You're stupid."

~ 0 ~

After that, people had come up to them asking for selfies, or screenshots of the two. She'd been reluctant, and Jaune had been embarrassed. She'd wanted to yell at him for doing that to them, but deep down, she'd enjoyed it far more than she would admit.

After the crowd died down, the two started walking around the marketplace, hitting up the stalls that had replaced the player-run shops. Some still had players operating them, but for the most part, it was NPCs dressed for the festivals.

Right now, they were standing in front of a stall that was selling charms. They weren't anything too special for the most part, but they offered small permanent or big yet temporary buffs. While the two were looking through charms, the vendor called to Jaune.  
"Crocea Morse."

Jaune looked up to the vendor. They were an NPC. "Um. Yeah?" Blake looked up at the vendor with him, having been pulled from her perusing.

The NPC handed Jaune a charm. "Here. Someone from the church told me to give you this." Jaune blinked, confused. It looked like an upside-down gacha capsule. It was transparent, and the festival lights refracted off the surface as if it were crystal. The bottom was a bleached white wood. Inside the capsule was a small, leafless tree that gave a dim green glow. The branches wrapped around what looked like a red crystal similar to the soul of Carnage. Only it gave off a warm, pleasant feeling.  
He targeted it, and a box popped up in front of him.

**Item name:**  
**Gift of the goddess**

The flavor text was written in the same looping cursive that the text for the soul of Carnage had been. The text box was different from the standard, or Carnage's. It was like he was looking at the final page in a book.

**FT:**  
_**Even if the Morrow is barren of promises**_  
_**Nothing shall forestall my return**_  
_**To become the dew that quenches the land**_  
_**To spare the sands, the seas, the skies**_  
_**I offer thee this silent sacrifice**_

**Skill:**  
**Turns any Mob into an Elder Grimm**  
**(Raid Boss)**

**Abilities:**  
**Increase Mob Damage by 10000%**  
**Increase Mob Defense by 10000%**  
**Increase Mob Dexterity by 10000%**  
**Increase Mob Agility by 10000%**  
**Increase Mob Evasion 10000%**  
**Increase Mob Intelligence 10000%**  
**Increase Mob Wisdom 10000%**  
**Increase Mob Charisma 10000%**  
**Increase Mob Resilience 10000%**  
**Spawns Mobs around Elder Grim**  
**Raises the rank of all Grimm in the vicinity by 1**  
**Creates inescapable Battlezone until the death of all participants or Grimm**  
**All affected monsters drop top tier rarity Items**  
**All gear worn by participating members will become Grimm forged**  
**Upon successful use and Dispatch of Elder Grimm created by 'Gift of the Goddess,' a new item will be created.**

**Certain NPCs will recognize it, giving you access to secret quests and events.**

**Secret event:**  
**?**

**Secret quests:**  
**?**  
**?**  
**?**

Several notifications popped up next to the box, saying new terms and tutorials. With an unsteady hand, Jaune marked them as read later and closed them. Jaune was at a loss. He didn't know what to make of the item.

"Huh. No buffs or skills. It's pretty useless, but it looks cool. Maybe it's just a random collectors gift. It could be worth a lot at the auction house if others get different ones, and they're part of a set."

Jaune looked at Blake in confusion while she examined the charm. He looked to the charm again and then to the vendor who'd resumed calling people over and showing others charms. He frowned slightly with a laugh that he hoped passed. "...Yeah, it looks cool. I might just keep it for the novelty."

Blake made a noncommittal hum and stood up straight. Her attention was drifting to the skyline behind him. He turned to see where she was looking and saw vast fancy estates built into the sides of the city and along the curving roads. One stood out to him where the royal NPCs and famous players lived if he remembered Blake's tour info. "Hmm. It reminds me of one of the player homes. Right there. See it?" She pointed.

He followed her finger to a large house with a white tree growing next to it that was reminiscent of the one in the capsule. On the front of the house where the gabled roof met was the statue of a winged goddess, holding a spear and shield. She wore a crown, and he could barely make it out, but there seemed to be a red stone embedded in it.  
"It must be nice to have a player home there. I wonder how much it costs?" She sighed.

Jaune nodded absentmindedly, looking down at the charm he'd gotten. "Yeah, I wonder." There was a loud smack, and Jaune almost dropped the item. He caught it and straightened up while frowning at Blake with a surprised look. "What was that for?"

She folded her arms and fixed him with an unimpressed look. It was the same look his mom gave his dad when she smacked him upside the head. He gulped while fixing his hair. His dad's fallback was always to say sorry. "I'm sorry. Blake."

Just like he'd witnessed his mother do, Blake unfolded her arms and shook her head with a sigh. "Just pay more attention when I'm talking to you. You usually do so more than the average person."

He huffed and put the charm in his inventory. "You didn't have to hit me to explain that." He reached over to smack her upside the head, but she dodged back and narrowed her eyes.

She held her hand out at the gleam in his eyes and shook her head. "Jaune. No. Just because I hit you doesn't mean you can hit me back. Two wrongs don't make a right."

Jaune smiled at her and raised both hands. "You're right, but three lefts do."

Blake's eyes widened, and she lept back. "Jaune, stop!" She laughed as he overshot and almost tripped. She aided him, however, and kicked his butt, making him fall over. He groaned and rolled over, rubbing his hip. Blake tried to stop laughing at him but couldn't entirely and instead offered him a hand. "Jaune, you'll never get me with your stats and our level difference. Not when we speced into the same things."

Jaune took her offered hand and sighed. "Fine. Just remember. I know where you sleep."

She smirked at him and folded her arms. "And who installed a lock for me earlier today?" Jaune's head fell as he raised his hand. Blake nodded with a sly smirk. "Right. Now you're treating, so how about we get some food? I see a takoyaki stand over there. Let's go."

As she walked off, he raised his head with a smile. She was definitely in a better mood than she had been when they went out to complete their mark earlier. If he had to put on a show and act out to make the night go well, he would. She was his friend, after all. It was the least he could do after she hung out with him yesterday. He jogged to catch up and stood next to her to order.

~ 0 ~

Blake didn't know where all this was coming from. The arguments today hadn't been nice, but she honestly couldn't remember the last time she had a home-cooked meal so good. Nor the last time she just hung out like this. Classes and work had been a wipeout for the last several months. Everyone had been busy with projects and whatnot as well.

Weiss, Ruby, and Yang had all been caught up in things other than school as well. She looked up at Jaune as he ordered, and she smiled. _"I'm going to miss it when all this comes to an end."_ Jaune turned to her with a smile, tray, and a toothpick in hand, which she took gratefully. _"We've only got till the end of December, and then we graduate."_

After Jaune got his tray, the pair headed off around the square, passing the auction hall, which looked like an event hall now. Extra banners and flags adorned it with lights dotted all over it in a tasteful way that gave it the impression of being an old fashioned theatre. "Wow. They really did up the auction house. Is it still in business?" Blake shrugged while chewing a takoyaki.

"You bet it is." Jaune and Blake turned to see a short girl with multi-colored hair standing behind them. She was holding the remnants of an ice-cream waffle-cone while grinning up at him. She looked Jaune up and down before nodding in approval. "By the way, you clean up nice." She looked to Blake and scrutinized her before giving a dismissive sniff before turning back to Jaune. Earning a glare from Blake. "So, you on a date?"

Before Jaune could answer, Blake spoke for him. "It's none of your business."

The short girl ignored Blake and smiled up at Jaune while holding her hand by her ear and mouthed 'call me' before she walked by him while swiping what remained of his Takoyaki. She waved over her shoulder and swung her hips more than necessary while calling to him. "I'm busy till tomorrow with guild stuff, but the event lasts for 48 hours, so don't be a stranger."

Jaune watched her go with a mixed expression and looked down at his empty hands when Blake nudged him. "Who is she?"

Jaune looked at Blake, who was watching the girl go as well, but there was something about her expression that made him nervous. "Um. I know her name is Neapolitan. It's why her Avatar has multi-colored hair. Like the ice-cream. At least that's what she told me." He looked back towards the auction house and put a hand on his waist. "She works at the auction house, and she's the one who handled the item I sold yesterday. That's all I know about her."

To his surprise, a piece of takoyaki on a toothpick was shoved under his nose. He blinked at it and looked over at Blake, who was looking away. "It's my last one. She took the rest of yours, so I figured you could have it." He smiled and leaned forward, biting the takoyaki. Blake pulled the toothpick out and spluttered. "Why did you bite it off?" You were supposed to take it, not make me feed you."  
Jaune smiled with his mouth closed and chewed his food while giving her a shrug.  
Blake rubbed her temples and sighed as her plate hit the floor and disappeared in a soft white glow.

Jaune laughed at her expression and headed off while calling for her to follow. She did so with a groan. The two didn't walk more than a few meters when someone called out to Jaune. "Hey! Hello. . Come over here." Jaune turned to see Mr. And Mrs. Ren standing outside of their shop at a stall. They weren't wearing their usual clothes either. Instead, they were wearing matching clothes of similar design. The style was chines without a doubt. The white and green were a great blend, and the ornaments in their hair made them look like pretty wealthy business owners from way back when. His gaze moved up from them and their stall to their shop. Jaune's jaw dropped in amazement.

The shop was decked out similar to the auction house only their sign, and the dragon stood lit up in neon green lights with other green lights adorning key places of their shop with the windows glowing a soft, warm orange. The front door was covered by a large banister that had a golden dragon at its center with much thinner ones running down from the lights to their stall in vibrant emerald color.

He rushed up to their stall in awe with a broad grin. "Wow. The two of you look perfect together in those clothes, and the shop looks great!" He couldn't believe he'd missed it before. "Mr. And Mrs. Ren, How? Why does your shop look so amazing?" None of the other stalls or even the auction house have an exclusive look like that."

The couple smiled at him, and Li wrapped an arm around his wife's waist, pulling her close as she smiled up at him. "Well, to be perfectly honest, we weren't expecting it. We got a message one minute before the festival event saying we'd get custom decorations and lighting, made by the developers, as thanks for playing and keeping the shop in good standing." An opened her inventory and pulled out a large bag that Li took and held out to Jaune. "It wouldn't have been possible without you. Here."

Li handed Jaune the bag, and his eyes widened.

**Bag of gold: 200,000,000**

The man laughed at Jaune's expression, and An giggled. "You can have your money back. Think of it as a thank you for giving us this without even realizing it. Getting to keep the shop and show it off like this is worth more than that. We've already made almost 100,000,000g, and the festival has only been going on for about half an hour. We'll be swamped with the orders tomorrow, but it feels good to be working and making our business flourish."

Jaune was stunned. He shook his head and offered the bag back. "I can't accept this. You guys did great work. It saved my life already. You've earned it."

Li pushed the bag back and burst out laughing while hugging his wife with one arm. "you hear that. He's already putting it to good use." The man beamed at Jaune, and An shook her head with a playful smile. "There he goes. Now he's going to have a big head for a few days." She looked to Jaune and pushed the bag to the edge of the stall with a nod. "If you don't want it, then you can give it to someone else. Like the nice young woman who seems to be waiting for you." She said while nodding behind him.  
Jaune turned to see Blake standing behind him a couple of meters back with an uncomfortable expression. "She looks like a good friend of yours. Or she did while you two were dancing."

Jaune smiled and laughed nervously while rubbing the back of his head. "you two saw that?" The couple nodded at him. He sighed and grabbed the bag with a calm expression, and then looked up at the player-houses Blake had been looking at earlier._ "I doubt it's enough for one up there, but."_  
He nodded to the two, and they waved as he left and headed off towards Blake.

An and Li watched him hand the bag to Blake. She looked stunned at first and tried to hand it back, making the couple smile, and then Jaune said something. Blake paused and blinked, stunned, and then yelled loud enough for them to hear. "This is pocket-change for you!?" She swatted at him, and he slipped under her hand while slapping the back of her head. She yelled at him and tried to grab him, but he dodged away and broke off into a run with her hot on his heels. Li chuckled and leaned his head against his wife as she leaned against his chest. An smiled after the two and sighed. "To be young again."

~ 0 ~

A puddle was disturbed as a boot splashed down into it, sending droplets everywhere. Several surrounding people made disgruntled noises as they were splashed. "Sorry!" Jaune called over his shoulder as he weaved around a few people and almost tripped.

He hit a crate and rolled over it just before it exploded into a shower of splinters to reveal Blake standing with her sword drawn. "Stop right now, Arc!"

Jaune slipped as he hit the street and stumbled while looking at her. "Put the sword away!" As he shouted, Blake leaped into the air coming right for him. His eyes widened, and he spun around, shooting off past a few people.

He skidded to a stop as Blake landed in front of him and pointed the sword at his neck. "But, you keep running." She said with a sickeningly sweet smile as she took another swing.

He jumped to the side and grabbed a light post, swinging around the bend to avoid Blake's strike. He shouted over his shoulder. "Because you're gonna hit me!"

He pushed a couple of people out of the way and clambered onto a railing and jumped down several switchbacks worth of stairs, landing hard on his feet. Several people stepped back and started chattering while a couple took screenshots. He rubbed his heel and looked up to see Blake gracefully flip over the rail, and land lightly not far behind him. "Awe, an assassin class is just cheating!"

Even more, people started taking screenshots as she called back. "You bet your sorry ass I'm going to hit you! You messed up my hair, and it's an event item! And no! It's not cheating being an assassin class! Calling 200,000,000g pocket change after less than 24hrs of solo play-time is cheating!"

"But I only got you back for earlier! Besides, I gave you the 200,000,000g!" He almost screamed as Blake lunged at him, but he dropped to the ground, and she flew over him. "Stop trying to wallop me. I smacked the back of your head. Trying to take mine off is not equal."

Blake landed and spun around to see Jaune scrambling up a building via a stack of crates. "Get back here!"

"Nuh-uh! No way!" He grabbed the edge of the roof and pulled himself up. As he did, he kicked the crates so she couldn't climb up after him. As he pulled himself over the edge, he saw her heels and frowned. "How…"

Blake glared down at him and pulled her hand back. "You could have done it too with your DEX and AGIL so high." Jaune blinked in surprise and remembered how he'd recovered from his tumble over that bridge in town and what exactly his skills did.

As Blake struck, Jaune flipped onto the roof over her strike before sliding past her with a grin. "Oh, hey. Thanks, Blake." Blake whirled around and made to grab him, but he dodged back and flipped away from her onto the next roof. He grinned at her, and she scowled.

Her eyes narrowed at him, and she crouched, sword at the ready. "Arc."

He grinned and let out a nervous laugh. "Please don't hurt me."

~ 0 ~

What ensued was the wildest game of tag ever. Their escapade took them across the city. Dodging through crowds, running across roofs, sliding over restaurant tables, jumping across waterways, and under bridges. More than a few crates met their demise, while plenty of stalls and banners were subject to their destructive antics. The two getting into crazier and crazier situations as the chase continued. Their little escapade finally ending atop the towering edifice of the cathedral.

Jaune laughed as he looked back to see Blake hot on his heels with a grin on her face and a gleam in her eyes as they reached the edge of the building. Jaune hit the rail and turned around with his hands raised. "I surrender," He said out of breath. A laugh escaping him quickly after.

Blake huffed, out of breath, eyes narrowed as she sauntered up to him with a victorious smile and tapped his head with her sword. "Now we're even."  
Before Jaune could respond, a loud smack rang through the air, and he stumbled forward. "And now, I win." Blake finished with a Cheshire grin.

Jaune rolled his eyes and rubbed the spot she'd hit as he stood up and turned to lean against the rail. It hurt, but the smile on her face was worth it. The whole thing had been pretty fun. As he looked out over the railing, his brow furrowed, and he looked down.  
Blake walked up next to him and let out a tired but happy sigh. "That was fun, wasn't it Jaune. Jaune?"

She turned to look at Jaune, seeing him looking over the railing. "Um, Blake. How do we get down from here?"

The raven-haired girl's eyes narrowed before she glanced around. Her eyes widened as she realized just where they were. "How did we…get up here?" She looked out over the rail with him. "Um. How high are we?"

Jaune shrugged distractedly and looked around, seeing the light-tower being the only taller building. His gaze traveled to the city walls, and his stomach dropped. "I uh, don't know, but we're way higher up than we can survive fall damage wise." He felt his legs go weak, and he took a deep breath.

Blake scooted closer to him and made a noncommittal sound before looking around and letting out a sigh. "Any ideas for getting down?" I'm not too sure how we got up here, but I'm sure we can't go back the way we came."

Jaune nodded in agreement and looked around as well. While he looked down, trying to figure how and where they'd climb up, he heard Blake move around behind him and then move right next to him. "I think we can climb down if we use the…"

"Jaune."

He paused and looked at Blake. She was standing on the edge of the railing, looking down at him. Her hair had come loose during their chase through the city, the wind blowing her hair around, giving her a whimsical look. "Blake…why are you standing on the edge of the rail?" She tilted her head with a warm smile and gently closed her eyes as she slowly fell backward. "Blake!" He lunged for her as she fell over the edge. He hit the rail hard, knocking the air out of himself as he stretched over the edge, trying to grab her.

Blake's eyes opened, and she beamed up at him, suddenly jerking as her arms flew above her head. A twang of rope going taught reached Jaune's ears, followed by Blake's roar of laughter as she started to swing through the air, yukata, and hair billowing in the wind behind her. Dozens of small colored flags whipping through the air along the festival rope she'd grabbed.

"Wh-What?" Jaune watched dumbfounded for a second, before scrambling onto the rail, grabbing a rope for himself. He slipped as he tried to stand and screamed like a girl as he fell down the side of the cathedral after Blake.

Said girl heard Jaune scream and burst out laughing as she turned to look back at him. "You okay?!" Jaune didn't respond to her words and instead flipped around looking like an idiot as he thrashed, trying to steady himself. His distress adding to the hilarity. "Cat got your tongue?" She called out to him.

He managed to get some semblance of control and managed to face her direction as they swung by a large tower. His eyes widened as the color drained from his face, and he pointed behind her. She spun around, her eyes going wide as well. "Oh, …shit." There was a giant balloon with banners hanging from it floating into their path. She pulled on her rope and threw her legs out, hitting the balloon at an angle and jumped off, managing to swing around it. "hahaha! Whooo!"  
Just then, there was a loud smack. Blake winced, turning to see the balloon bounce, and Jaune slide down his rope a bit as he skidded across it. She tried to hold in her laughter and turned away. "You alright, Jaune?" She called back to him between fits of giggles.

The blond rubbed his nose and winced while looking up at Blake, who now had a few meters on him in height. He was about to respond when he felt himself start to slow down and funny enough, Blake seemed to be getting closer as well. "Blake. Watch out!"

Her amber eyes opened; all laughter went as topaz met sapphire. The two collided in a mess of arms and legs while swinging around each other as their ropes became intertwined. Both pushed and kicked, trying to untangle from one another, eventually succeeding only to see the ground coming up towards them. Blake's eyes widened, and she yelled as she tightened her grip. As her grip tightened Jaune went silent and his grip loosened on the rope, the two sliding down faster and faster, Blake's screams getting louder as they neared the rapidly approaching side of a hill. "Jaune!" Before the pair hit, Jaune almost let go entirely, and inertia made them slide down the rope just grazing the hill as they continued to plummet to the ground.

It was at that moment Blake realized the thing she'd been gripping hadn't been her rope but Jaune's throat. "JAUNE!" Blake let go of him but his arms wrapped around her and he pulled her against his chest. As they made contact, Jaune's body shifted, and he took the brunt of the fall. The two bounced and rolled across the grass, sliding down the side of the hill until they came to a stop by the water's edge.

The two lay there silently for what seemed like forever. Blake lay there, eyes wide and chest heaving as she tried to understand how she lived. "Oh. Duh. It's a game. But STILL!" She closed her eyes and rubbed her temples as she took a long slow breath, trying to calm down.

Suddenly Jaune shouted at the top of his lungs, shocking her. "Fuck yeah! I love my passives!" Blake turned to look at Jaune. Seeing him on his back with his arms stretched towards the sky. His arms fell, and he let out a relieved sigh before silence filled the air. Only a couple of seconds later, both burst out laughing, rolling and holding their sides.

Jaune pulled at the grass on the side of the hill, trying to sit up but fell over, still laughing. "Oh my god. That was intense. I thought we were done for."

Blake slapped his shoulder. "Stop laughing. We really could have died Jaune." She tried to maintain a straight face, but her mask broke as Jaune snickered at her.

"Oh no, I'm at the respawning screen." He did jazz hands with a mock look of terror before doubling over again. In all honesty, that would have meant 6 hours of waiting to respawn. Though was that so bad compared to perma-death?

Blake let out a giggle and fell over on her back again, looking up at the dark sky. "That was honestly fun, though. Not something you do every day, or ever IRL." She let out a content sigh as the laughter died down.

Jaune took a deep breath as his laughter quieted as well. "I'm with you on that one, Blake." He swung his legs up and jumped to his feet, dusting himself off before turning and offering a hand to Blake. "So how about we go have some more fun that we can't IRL." Blake blinked at his outstretched hand and then up at him with a sly smile before taking it with a nod. He pulled her up, and the two made their way up the hill back to the main festival area, poking and prodding each other while throwing quips back and forth.

~ 0 ~

As the evening came to a pleasant lull, the two found themselves sitting up on one of the city walls that towered above most of the structures inside. Jaune was leaning back against his arms, nodding as he tapped his foot to the BGM, a squid on a stick hanging from his mouth. Blake sat next to him with her treat sitting in her hand. The two just looked out at the city in contentment as they watched fireworks and shows from their vantage point. Jaune leaned forward and pulled his squid from his mouth. "You know this makes almost a whole 16 hours in the game. Damn."

Blake smiled as she looked out at the city and shrugged. "It's way more common than you'd think. I hear there are some people who left their jobs just to no life Remnant. Like hardcore otaku, and business owners with too much time on their hands."

Jaune quirked a brow, thinking back to An and Li Ren, a nervous smile crossing his face as he let out an amused laugh. "There are all sorts, I guess."

Blake grew quiet, and Jaune could feel the mood shift. "Speaking of all sorts. The Huntsman guild." Jaune shifted uncomfortably but stayed seated. "What are you going to do about them?"

Jaune held back his sigh and tossed his stick, now squid-less, out into the air as it disappeared in a shimmer of particles. He put on a warm smile and shrugged. "I'll look into it. Maybe ask my friend Sun, or…Ruby. I'll let you know what I find." He smirked at her good-naturedly and tilted his head a bit. "I promise to let you know if I'm going to do anything stupid before I do."

Blake brandished her squid on a stick at him making him lean back with an apologetic smile before she poked him hard on the chest with what was left of it. "You'd better. Because I didn't go through all of that stuff today for nothing."

He rubbed his coat, cleaning the soy sauce from the squid off and nodded while giving her an appreciative look. "I know you asked me to hang out with you today, but seriously though. Thanks for making time for this loser. I appreciate it. I'm glad I've got a friend like you."

Blake's arm dropped to her lap as she looked back at Jaune with a stunned expression. He grinned and rubbed under his nose before looking back out at Vale. She looked down at her lap. "You're not a loser, you doofus," she said quietly to herself.

"Hmm? What did you say, Blake?" He leaned closer to her. "Can you repeat that?"

She leaned away and frowned at him. "Maybe you should listen more carefully next time."

Jaune gave her an unreadable look and shrugged. "Okay. I'll pay better attention to you from now on."

She knew he didn't mean it the way he'd said it but damn him! He could be so dense. She was starting to see why he was still single. Fighting the blush down, she looked down at her legs hanging over the wall. "You're such a dork."

Blake had been calling him that a lot, and it was starting to bother him. Not in a bad way just that he didn't know what she meant. He scooted closer and tried to get in her face. "Hey. Why do you keep calling me a dork?"

"Why are you so close?" She flushed at their proximity and shoved him off the wall, making him fall onto the level below about six feet down.

He let out a yelp as he hit the stone and rolled onto his back, groaning a bit. "Ouch. What was that for?" He rubbed his hip as he got up. "You know, Blake. You really are…" He looked up at her to see her standing, looking down at him with a warm smile; a firework went off somewhere out in the fields behind her making her hair shine with a purplish sheen while the city lights made her face glow. "…beautiful."

Without warning, several blue rings appeared around her, and she disappeared. "Huh? Why did she…log out?" He folded his arms and turned around and plopped down, letting his legs hang off the side of the wall leaning forward with an elbow on his knee, head in hand. He looked over the city and smiled at what he saw amazed again by how he spent all day in the game. Even longer than yesterday. With a grin and a shake of his head, he opened his menu and logged out.  
Unbeknownst to the two, a person in a red cloak had been watching them.

~ 0 ~

The smell of his apartment greeted Jaune as he pulled off his AVRH. With a stretch and a yawn, he slid off his bed, giving his clock a cursory glance. He noted that it was 2:00 in the morning and winced. He let out a sigh and ruffled his hair. "Whatever. I called into classes today. Might as well stretch my legs." With a groan, he stood up and left his room. He noticed the dim pink light on in the kitchen and chuckled. "I guess Blake found the toggle for the lights."

Upon walking in, he found Blake wiping her mouth an open bottle of vodka and an empty glass sitting next to her. He quirked a brow and shot her a surprised, questioning look. "So~ why are you drinking?" She held up a hand as she poured another glass and threw it back like a champ, not even a shudder or shiver. He walked up to her and leaned against the counter with his arms folded lazily. "You know." He picked up the bottle of Vodka she'd grabbed and turned it around, examining it. "That's a 24K, George V Limited Edition Kors Vodka." Including both glasses, you just drank about $2,000 worth of vodka."  
Blake almost choked and coughed as her eyes widened. "Jaune shrugged and looked at her with a ruffle smile. "You picked a good one."

Blake gasped and looked at Jaune with wide yes._ "Did he just say $2,000 worth? In 2 glasses?!"_ She cleared her throat and looked at him with a half pleading half hopeful look. "You're not serious, are you?" The calm look on his face made her stomach drop. She gripped her head, feeling dizzy. "Oh shit."

She felt a hand rest on her shoulder, steadying her, and she looked back at Jaune, who was laughing. Laughing! "It's alright, Blake. It's not a big deal. It's not like I told you not to, and I did hand you a key to the place without ground-rules, so we'll call this my bad." With that, he proffered the bottle to her with a smile. "Wanna finish it together?"

Blake took the bottle in both of her hands and looked down at it. She glanced at Jaune out of the corner of her eye as he reached to the cupboard and pulled another glass down. He turned around and leaned his hip against the counter next to her while giving her a light nudge. "You know, we did drink last night. Why do you want to drink again?"

It was a fair question. The answer was pretty simple too. Blake turned to face the counter while grabbing Jaune's glass. "On the rocks?" He nodded. She moved around him to the fridge and used the ice dispenser before pouring them both a drink. She handed Jaune his glass before she leaned her waist against the counter next to him. She took a sip and then let out a breath before closing her eyes with a small smile. "I'm not feeling too tired. I thought getting buzzed, or maybe a little drunk to make sleeping easier would be a good way to end the night."  
She opened her eyes and folded her free arm under her chest. Looking up at him, she gave a half-smile. "Why do you want to drink again?"

Jaune sipped from his glass while thinking. When he finished, he looked down into his glass while swirling the clear liquid. A small smile flitted across his features before he looked at her and held out his glass close to hers. "I figured you'd be lonely if I let you drink by yourself."

Blake covered her mouth, yawning as she clinked her glass against his. When she finished a sly smile spread across her lips as she looked up at him from the corner of her eye. "How chivalrous."

Their conversation carried on much in the same way for the next hour, with simple questions back and forth between sips and refills. The two talked about their night and the shenanigans they got into, like the dance and their chase. All the while, they were getting tipsier. Around 3:30, Blake threw back the remnants of the last glass of vodka from the bottle. "Say, Juanune." She hiccuped and shook her head. "So-sowy…so-sor-sorry." She rubbed her head. "Jaune. Why. Why do you keep complimenting me so much?"

Jaune took a breath as he folded his arms, having finished his drink already and not getting another before Blake polished off the bottle. He opened his mouth but drew a blank. He rubbed his chin and shrugged. Her reaction was an unimpressed flat stare. "You don't know." She frowned, and drunkenly slid up against his side. She was practically leaning on him to stay up while poking his cheek.

He snickered and shook his head at the sour expression on her face while trying to push her hand away. "Blake. Haha. Stop. I didn't mean it like that." He smiled down at her while she continued to pester him in her addled state of mind. It was kind of endearing that she'd be upset by such a small thing. Call him crazy, but he felt comfortable around her. It was similar to how he'd felt around Ruby. Spending time with her was always enjoyable. Talking to her at the pizzeria made his day end on a high note every time he had. He didn't know what it was, but when she was around, he felt less fractured. In those moments, life was just the pizzeria.

"Honestly, Blake. I think you're really cool compared to me." At his words, she stopped poking his cheek and quieted down, watching him intently. "I've always thought of you as this calm, collected, hard-working person." He scratched his nose while looking up at the kitchen lights. "You even started delivering pizza way out of the delivery range for me. I mean, how many people can say they have a cool friend like that? You're one for the books, that's for sure."

He got quiet and looked down into his glass smiling weakly. His wistful expression made her frown. "I wish I were more like you." He looked up, meeting her eyes. "Maybe I wouldn't be in the situation I'm in with everyone."

Blake elbowed him playfully and forced a laugh. "You don't mean that. I'm nothing special." The look he gave her made her pause.

He smiled at her with that calm, friendly smile that made her feel like she was missing something. "You wouldn't get it. You don't see what I do. I constantly get this feeling like I'm forgetting something important, but when you're around, the feeling goes away."

She didn't know what to say. It was heartwarming, but knowing Jaune, it wasn't romantic. It was difficult to know how to respond. Her silence must have been taken the wrong way because Jaune laughed nervously while offering her an apology. "Sorry. I guess I should add context. You see, I had this accident in high school, and I can't remember much about myself or the people I knew before. Trying to focus on memories gives me these splitting headaches, but like I said. When I'm around you, the memories… they just come, and the pain goes away."

Blake felt a knot build in her throat and her chest ached. She looked down at her empty glass in contemplation. She wasn't any kind of psych major, but she'd heard about repressed memories and stuff. When you try to force them, they could cause physical pain or make you sick. Her eyes widened in realization. The Jaune she used to know hadn't just grown up and forgotten her, but he didn't even know who she was anymore. She bit her bottom lip and placed her glass on the counter as she pushed off of it and turned to leave.

Jaune didn't even notice. He was slipping into his own little world, but he kept talking, his head starting to hurt as the sound of the ocean filled his ears along with muted laughter and a light ringing. "You know. There is this one memory that I have. I don't know what it's from or when exactly but.

~ Final Fantasy 10 - Yuna's Theme ~

Jaune smiled as the ocean breeze kissed his skin and ruffled his hair. He leaned back on the pier, the cry of a few seagulls and the gentle crash of the waves against the beach filling his hears. He let out a relaxed sigh as he opened his eyes. Stretched out in front of him was the vast ocean. The sun set upon it. The water shone golden as the sky bled into the sea, a warm orange, and red.

He let his legs stretch out on the pier as he leaned back on his hands and lazily swayed side to side. The fishing line next to him tugged a bit, and he looked over at it. There was another tug and then nothing. He let out a defeated sigh and put his hands behind his head as he fell back with a groan. "Haaaaaaaa. Man, nothing is biting today. What am I going to do now?" He threw his feet up quickly, sitting up and grabbed his reel, rewinding it before getting to his feet and casting it once again with a loud yell. "I'll catch one if it's the last thing I do!"

There was a light tap of feet walking across the pier behind Jaune. "You'll scare all the fish if you yell like that, stupid." The blond frowned, refusing to look back and closed his eyes as he turned his entire body away from the girl who'd spoken. He rubbed under his nose and held his head high. "I'll catch the biggest fish you've ever seen, just you watch. Then you'll have to stop calling me stupid."

The girl behind him let out an unimpressed sigh followed by a quiet giggle, and a tapping noise filled the air. "I doubt that. But let's say you do. What would you do with it?"

Jaune got quiet and looked down at his converse. "Well…I'd…I would give it to you. I mean." He grew silent again and looked out over the ocean. "It's almost time. I want to make a cool memory or see something amazing." He shrugged and grinned to himself while pointing his thumb back at himself. "I wanna have a great story to tell."

The tapping noise coming from the girl stopped, and she got quiet for a second. "What did you mean by, it's almost time? And who are you going to tell the story too if we're both together for it?"

Jaune let out a sigh, and his shoulders fell. "I…" Suddenly the line went taught and started whining as the bob was pulled underwater. "Whoa!" He was tugged forward and almost off the pier into the ocean as he gripped the reel and started rewinding it. The girl behind Jaune gasped and rushed up to him, wrapping her arms around his waist, dragging him back as he fought with the fish. "It's gotta be a big one!"

The girl groaned and huffed as the two pulled and moved back, step by step, to a safer spot on the pier. "Just reel it in already. I don't wanna get dragged in like last month!"

Jaune glared at the volatile surface of the water as the fish struggled. He had to catch this stupid finny fiend. It would be perfect. With a loud yell and a hard tug, Jaune turned around, Knocking the girl down. She let out a yelp as she fell on her butt. He pulled the pole to his chest, and with all his might swung down. There was a loud snap, a splash, and water rained down on the two as the fish flew through the air. He looked up at it as it writhed and flipped before it slammed down hard on one of the steaks of the pier, and then fell lifeless to the walkway. He blinked in shock at what he'd done then down at his hands to see his fishing rod bent and obviously broken, then back to the enormous fish. "I…" He felt his mouth form a face splitting grin, as he curled in on himself and then leaped into the air. "Did it! Whooooo!"

He jumped again and spun to face the beach as he threw his fist into the air in a half pump, half punch. "Did you see that! Did you see it!" He struck a pose with his feet spread apart, chest puffed out, and then bumped his fist against his chest with a broad toothy grin. "I rule!"

"Jaune." He paused and spun around. Standing there, with the fish in hand, was the girl. The sun was behind her, making it impossible to make out any detail, but he could tell she was smirking at him as she walked over with the fish in hand. She looked down at him, but the setting sun still left her face indistinguishable. "You said you'd give it to me, right?" He just nodded stupidly, his cheeks getting hot as the girl leaned in and kissed his nose. She left him standing there, redder than a tomato, and walked back along the pier, calling for her dad.  
Jaune watched her go with a happy smile when she stopped and looked over her shoulder at him. "Hey, stupid! Are you coming?"

Jaune grimaced and ran to catch up, coming to a stop next to her and kept stride as they hit the beach. "Hey. I caught that huge fish for you, so you can't call me stupid anymore."

The girl smirked at him again. "My hero. But when did I say I would stop calling you stupid?" Jaune looked at her in shock and spluttered as she reached over and ruffled the hair on the back of his head.

He reached up and rubbed the back of his head to fix it. "You know, my mom said if you keep doing that you'll train it to stick up in the back. She said it looks sloppy."

The girl let out a soft laugh and shook her head. "I think it looks funny. Charming but funny."

Jaune frowned at her and rubbed the back of his head again absentmindedly, and she laughed into her hand at the tick she'd made him start. "Yeah, well… you look like a KitKat, so there."

She whirled around and smacked the back of his head, making his hair stick up again, and he rubbed it in embarrassment. She looked at him through narrowed eyes and poked his cheek. "I said, don't call me KitKat!"  
This was usually when the head-splitting pain kicked in, and the ringing became unbearable, but instead, the girl faced him, and his vision quickly blurred as darkness encroached around him. The pain and ringing faded as her voice filled his head.  
"My name is…"

~ Song end ~

Jaune rubbed his temples and took a deep breath. "…I was wondering. That picture in your room." Blake froze at his mention of one of her pictures. "The one with you, your parents, and the two blonds. Did we used to know each other?"

Blake got quiet and faked a yawn to wipe her face as she took a soft breath before she turned to face him with an amused smile. "I don't think so. I'm sure I'd remember an amazing dork like you, Jaune."

Her response drew a blush from him as he scratched his nose and looked away in embarrassment. "Uh-um-I-Ah. Yeah. Stupid question. Sorry for asking." He let out a long breath and then smiled at her. "Well, goodnight Blake." He turned to the counter and their glasses. "I'll clean up here. You can go ahead and turn in first."

She nodded with a wave as she headed towards her new room. She wanted to turn around and tell Jaune yes. That they did know each other from before, but she'd stopped herself for two reasons. First. She didn't want to cause him pain in case he tried to force memories for her sake. Second, and more selfish. Over the last four years and more so five months, they'd started building a different kind of relationship from when they were kids. He was clueless about their past, and she didn't bring up the past. They were still friends, and things were good. Why change them? With that last thought, she turned at the entrance to the kitchen and looked back with a sleepy smile. "Goodnight, Jaune."

~ 0 ~

She looked down at the picture in her hands. A melancholy smile on her face as she stared at the blond dufus in it standing next to her. She put down the old picture with a sniff and looked around her room. Her clothes for the day sat ready, and she let out a tired breath as she slid onto her bed and backed up against the wall while reaching for her guitar. She strummed the chords before closing her eyes as she found the right notes. She took a deep breath as her digital clock beeped, letting her know it was 4:00 am.

~ Song - I Lied (S/o to Anne-Marie) ~

"It's another morning,  
Gotta get up from my bed  
What are these thoughts, What are these thoughts  
That're running through my head  
I guess I'm overthinking  
But I feel like I'm sinking  
I'm going down, going down  
Going down the drain."

"It ain't as easy as it seems, trust me~  
But I've been there before."

"So hey, how you doin'  
I'm doing just fine, I lied  
I'm dying inside  
Hey, can't you see I'm not fine at all~  
But I'll just keep it to myself."

"I keep my distance from you  
It's a repeated cycle  
I need to stop, 'think I should stop  
From being in denial  
Oh I don't wanna hurt you  
I know you're trynna help me  
But no, I'll say no  
Time and time again."

"It ain't as easy as it seems, trust me  
But I've been there before~."

"So hey, how you doin'  
I'm doing just fine, I lied  
I'm dying inside  
Hey, can't you see I'm not fine at all~  
But I'll just keep it to myself."

"It's not that I'm ungrateful  
Not trying to be pitiful  
It's just-it's~ just~  
Oh~ I don't Know~."

"It ain't as easy as it seems, trust me  
But I've been there before."

"So hey, how you doin'  
I'm doing just fine, I lied  
I'm dying inside  
Hey, can't you see I'm not fine at all  
So I'll just keep it to myself  
I'll just keep it to myself."

~ song end ~

As she finished her song, her voice cracked. She thought back to a couple of hours ago while she'd been playing TWoR. She'd seen him. Him! in the game no less. But he was with another girl, and he'd called her beautiful while watching the event together. She felt her throat tighten as the tears welled in her eyes. Her guitar dropped to her bed, and she pulled her knees against her chest as she began to cry softly. "I'm so sorry, Jaune. I'm…I don't know." She fell onto her side as she cried herself to sleep. Classes could go to hell today.

On her monitor, her email sat open.

**Sent: 10:49pm**

**To: DoesItMatter00 ALTMT .com**

**Subject: I'm really sorry **

**"Hey, It's been a while. I'm so sorry about avoiding you on Friday. For the last few months, really. I wanted to see if you had time to talk. I don't know if that'll mean anything to you, but I hope you respond."**

**PS: You still play games, right? **

**Attachment: TWoR, Size 8.4TB**

**~ 0 ~**

**Authors Notes**

**I am so sorry about the long wait for an update. I got into a bad car accident, and lots of stuff happened. I ended up being charged with felonies and stuff. Long story short, I got T-boned and was in shock (Literally couldn't see due to glass in eyes, or comprehend what was going on), so the person who hit me and the person who caused the accident pinned it on me because I couldn't understand what was going on. I had to pay for bail, bond, and lawyer while looking for a job because I lost mine after missing two days of work while in the hospital. That on top of nearly going blind from the accident, and Corona a couple of months into recovery and yeah.**

**My computer almost died too, and any file newer than Oct 23rd got corrupted, so I had to re-write this chapter from scratch as well as everything I've been working on. That was a fun little heart attack. Anyways. I'm back, hopefully for a while. I'll be updating as often as I can to try and help with the whole quarantine thing going around everywhere.**

**Stay healthy, stay safe. I hope you all enjoyed the chapter.**

**~ 0 ~**


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